Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Sells 4,172 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,628 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,172 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $877,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Target during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Retirement Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 85.0% in the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target in the second quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on TGT. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Melius Research started coverage on Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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. In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $151.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $69.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $105.23 and a 12-month high of $181.86. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given 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 2.96%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.