Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Position Reduced by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,319 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 546 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Opinicus Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 7.9% in the third quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 7,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Target by 6.8% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,129 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,982,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC grew its position in Target by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 30,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 249.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 17,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $153.46 on Friday. Target Co. has a one year low of $124.88 and a one 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.