Mechanics Bank Trust Department Increases Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,383 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,473 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Target were worth $2,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Target by 95,980.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,537,742 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,762,865,000 after buying an additional 18,518,448 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $725,870,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Target by 329.1% during the first quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,703,360 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $447,758,000 after buying an additional 2,073,315 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Target by 102.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,145,204 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,993,000 after buying an additional 1,592,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Target by 252.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,166,161 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $358,782,000 after buying an additional 1,551,551 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.33% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 1.4 %

TGT stock opened at $123.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.01. Target Co. has a one year low of $120.75 and a one year high of $181.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 16th. The retailer reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $24.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.18 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.12% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business’s revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 30,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.70, for a total transaction of $3,921,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 399,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,236,738.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $168.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Target from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.21.

Target 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.