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

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TGT. TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the third quarter valued at $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Target by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,243,928 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $193,879,000 after acquiring an additional 41,394 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 20.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,484,000 after acquiring an additional 36,941 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 166.3% during the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 16,179 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 10,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $121.66 on Friday. The company 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.92. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on TGT shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.