Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys 1,655 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 249.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,318 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,655 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its position in Target by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 20.8% during the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Target by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its position in shares of Target by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 6,438 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $155.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $107.13 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

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.