Clarity Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 393 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Target by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Target by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,619,000 after acquiring an additional 9,510 shares in the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP boosted its position in Target by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 217,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,834,000 after acquiring an additional 69,885 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at about $967,000. Finally, TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,403,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Monday, November 25th. Daiwa America lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 2.2 %

TGT opened at $135.24 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.97 and a 200-day moving average of $147.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 47.51%.

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.