Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 25.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,090 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Target by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 9.7% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE TGT opened at $156.00 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a one year low of $128.37 and a one year high of $181.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $152.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS 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. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’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. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.