Leavell Investment Management Inc. Has $882,000 Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,658 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Allegheny Financial Group LTD acquired a new stake in Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 30.1% during the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Target by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,893 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Target by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 260,087 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $46,089,000 after purchasing an additional 11,629 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC bought a new position in Target during the 1st quarter worth about $212,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Stock Down 0.7 %

Target stock opened at $149.78 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $152.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $69.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $105.23 and a twelve month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

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.