Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Target (NYSE:TGT)

Target Co. (NYSE:TGT – Get Rating) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 92,196 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 156% compared to the average volume of 35,954 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TGT. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Cowen cut their target price on shares of Target from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. TheStreet raised shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.75, for a total transaction of $234,534.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,491. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 35,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.98, for a total transaction of $5,564,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 191,272 shares in the company, valued at $30,408,422.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,459 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.75, for a total transaction of $234,534.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,491. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Target

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Target by 122.1% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 191 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 78.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of TGT opened at $143.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.02. Target has a 12-month low of $137.16 and a 12-month high of $183.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.65.

Target (NYSE:TGT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 17th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $24.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.28 billion. Target had a return on equity of 24.49% and a net margin of 2.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Target will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 73.59%.

Target Company Profile

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Target Corp. engages in the operation and ownership of general merchandise stores. It offers food assortments including perishables, dry grocery, dairy, and frozen items. The company was founded by George Draper Dayton in 1902 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.