Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Position Boosted by Fiduciary Trust Co

Fiduciary Trust Co grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,708 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 406 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Target were worth $3,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Cynosure Group LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Target by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on TGT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.30.

Target Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $130.09 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $59.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Target

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.