WealthPLAN Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,940 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 631 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Target by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 11.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after acquiring an additional 440,307 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 470,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Target by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Target by 9.7% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $458,131,000 after buying an additional 272,521 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

Target Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $153.32 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $152.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.55. The company has a market cap of $70.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $107.13 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS 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 issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is 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.