Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 85.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,127 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Adero Partners LLC grew its stake in Target by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at about $267,000. Schear Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 6.1% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter worth about $241,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 395,076 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,577,000 after acquiring an additional 23,741 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock opened at $152.13 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $127.19 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction 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 trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.