Target (NYSE:TGT) Price Target Cut to $185.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price objective trimmed by UBS Group from $191.00 to $185.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on TGT. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Target from $206.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $180.41.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $145.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $164.92 and a 200-day moving average of $150.13. Target has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Target

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

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.