Centaurus Financial Inc. Decreases Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Centaurus Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,704 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 281 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Target by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. TAP Consulting LLC bought a new position in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Target by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 3.4% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,243,928 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $193,879,000 after buying an additional 41,394 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 20.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,484,000 after buying an additional 36,941 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. 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 $150.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.05.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TGT. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Monday. Citigroup downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.30.

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.