Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Eagle Asset Management Inc.

Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 803,837 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,449 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $120,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Target by 43.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 352 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 9.0% in the first 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 during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Target during the first quarter worth about $245,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Target by 6.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 303,593 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,799,000 after acquiring an additional 17,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,656 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,002,000 after acquiring an additional 3,370 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 0.0 %

TGT opened at $121.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $151.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 46.28%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.13.

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.