Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Holdings Cut by ICW Investment Advisors LLC

ICW Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,885 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on TGT. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “inline” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $152.49. 423,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,016,294. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $70.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.05. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.