Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,517 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 196 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Target by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,401,142,000 after purchasing an additional 417,818 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Target by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Target by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,357,525,000 after purchasing an additional 137,180 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $759,810,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 17.5% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after buying an additional 470,647 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $151.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Daiwa America raised Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

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.