Quest Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Quest Partners LLC lowered its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,833 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Islay Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 305.7% during the 3rd quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 12,114 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 9,128 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Target by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,373,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $214,027,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position 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 worth $4,368,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in Target by 85.5% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.2% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Citigroup downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.63.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $130.50 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $150.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.31. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $60.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

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.