Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Sells 422 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,548 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 422 shares during the quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Target were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target by 56.1% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 85.0% during the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.68.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $150.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.14. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $69.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction 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 approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% 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.