Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target Cut to $181.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $191.00 to $181.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TGT. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $180.41.

Target Trading Up 0.6 %

TGT opened at $145.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $164.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.16. Target has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Target’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,401,142,000 after buying an additional 417,818 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Target by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after acquiring an additional 868,274 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,357,525,000 after acquiring an additional 137,180 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Target by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $759,810,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.