Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 62,978 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 75.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 146,995 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 62,978 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $21,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Target by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Target by 173.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 711.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,762,000 after buying an additional 768,479 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $132.41 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.30.

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.