United Services Automobile Association Cuts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

United Services Automobile Association lowered its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 25.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,715 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 25,847 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Target were worth $11,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Hsbc Global Res cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.30.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $132.41 on Friday. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.78.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.