Moors & Cabot Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,466 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 836 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Target by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in Target by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.90.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $121.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $56.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $152.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.12.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

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.