Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 30.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 631,282 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 271,520 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Target worth $98,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TGT. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup cut shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $160.57.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.48. 7,111,279 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,572,404. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $142.44 and a 200-day moving average of $146.51. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

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.