Capital Investment Counsel Inc Trims Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc lessened its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,676 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 934 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Target were worth $3,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Monte Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Target by 22.6% in the third quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 50,932 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,938,000 after buying an additional 9,381 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,532,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its position in shares of Target by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 4,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in Target by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 14,305 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC raised its position in Target by 17.2% in the third quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 4,758 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $148.04 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $153.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $105.23 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $68.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius Research assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, and infants and newborns, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes; and beauty and personal care, baby gear, cleaning, paper products, and pet supplies.