AMG National Trust Bank Has $333,000 Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

AMG National Trust Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,134 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,413 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in Target by 1.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Target by 20.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Target by 5.3% during the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TGT. Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $156.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.32. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $128.37 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $71.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.