Raymond James Trust N.A. Purchases 2,953 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,597 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Target were worth $18,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Target in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 156.5% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $121.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $151.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.92. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.28%.

Target 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.