Linscomb Wealth Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Linscomb Wealth Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,281 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 341 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Target by 1.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 20.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position 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 buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 9.7% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE TGT opened at $152.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $127.19 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.56 and its 200 day moving average is $150.46.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 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 value of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Melius Research started coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

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.