Target (NYSE:TGT) Given New $139.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $167.00 to $139.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on TGT. Daiwa America upgraded Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.13.

Target Trading Up 1.9 %

TGT stock traded up $2.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $123.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,622,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,293,558. The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.79 and a 200-day moving average of $149.92. Target has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. Target’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Target will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.62%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was 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 $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGT. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Target by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 352 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter valued at about $245,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 303,593 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,799,000 after buying an additional 17,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,656 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,002,000 after buying an additional 3,370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.