Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) CAO Matthew A. Liegel Sells 1,459 Shares of Stock

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT – Get Rating) CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.75, for a total value of $234,534.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,491. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $151.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.96 and a 200-day moving average of $160.86. The firm has a market cap of $70.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.02. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $137.16 and a 1-year high of $183.89.

Target (NYSE:TGT – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 17th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $24.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.28 billion. Target had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 24.49%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.59%.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Plancorp LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 2.1% in the first quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,520 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its holdings in Target by 13.5% in the third quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 506 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 2,263 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Titleist Asset Management LTD. lifted its holdings in Target by 1.7% in the third quarter. Titleist Asset Management LTD. now owns 3,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Field & Main Bank lifted its holdings in Target by 0.6% in the first quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 10,082 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 78.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Target in a report on Monday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Cowen dropped their price objective on Target from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.69.

Target Company Profile

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Target Corp. engages in the operation and ownership of general merchandise stores. It offers food assortments including perishables, dry grocery, dairy, and frozen items. The company was founded by George Draper Dayton in 1902 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.