Silicon Valley Capital Partners Reduces Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Silicon Valley Capital Partners decreased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 23.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,443 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners’ holdings in Target were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Target by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,006 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Target by 4.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 135,908 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $20,121,000 after purchasing an additional 5,548 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Janney Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 16.3% during the third quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 86,951 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,552,000 after purchasing an additional 12,164 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Target by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 7,616 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 4,466 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $151.00 on Monday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $105.23 and a twelve month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.28%.

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.