Target (NYSE:TGT) Coverage Initiated at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $168.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

TGT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $150.17 on Tuesday. Target has a 12 month low of $105.23 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $69.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.23.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Target will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target 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 value 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 56.1% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Target by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,909,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Target by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Target by 0.4% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.