Rothschild Investment LLC Takes Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 33,808 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 31.1% in the second quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,582,000 after purchasing an additional 10,558 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Financial Partners purchased a new stake in Target in the second quarter valued at $252,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its holdings in Target by 3.3% in the second quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 25,191 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Target by 1.7% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 39,990 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.1 %

TGT stock opened at $153.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.89.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on TGT shares. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.68.

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.