Target (NYSE:TGT) Stock Price Down 1.3% - What's Next?

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $130.62 and last traded at $130.75. 1,128,815 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 4,530,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Daiwa America lowered Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $160.57.

Target Stock Down 0.6 %

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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $143.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.91. The firm has a market cap of $60.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.17.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 9,940.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer's stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer's stock worth $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 711.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $129,762,000 after purchasing an additional 768,479 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% 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.