Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,738 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on TGT. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $153.46 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $124.88 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.52.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

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.