Piper Sandler Cuts Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target to $130.00

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price target reduced by Piper Sandler from $156.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on TGT. HSBC lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.13.

Target Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $125.01 on Thursday. Target has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.61. The stock has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Target will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after buying an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new position in Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 11.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.