Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Has $3.80 Million Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,402 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $3,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Target by 1.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Target by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,619,000 after buying an additional 9,510 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at approximately $967,000. TAP Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the third quarter worth $2,403,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $132.31 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $60.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.30.

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.