Everett Harris & Co. CA Raises Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Everett Harris & Co. CA lifted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,249 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Target were worth $662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Little House Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter worth about $1,041,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Target by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 642,340 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $112,686,000 after buying an additional 122,706 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Target by 11.4% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,618,000 after buying an additional 6,690 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,958,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 864.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,613 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,205,000 after acquiring an additional 51,639 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $156.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $72.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.73. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $105.23 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.