Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 135.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,360 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 74,968 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $19,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth about $759,810,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter worth about $335,870,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,683,228 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $382,145,000 after buying an additional 984,464 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Target by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after acquiring an additional 868,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in Target in the first quarter worth approximately $125,536,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on TGT shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com raised Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “inline” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler began coverage on Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” 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, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $153.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,933,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,506,365. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.95. The firm has a market cap of $71.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.