Plan Group Financial LLC Grows Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Plan Group Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 17.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,758 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Target by 711.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after acquiring an additional 768,479 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Target in the first quarter worth $107,367,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Target by 17.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 470,647 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 11.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after acquiring an additional 440,307 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Target in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Target in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related 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 owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $148.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 1.99 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.26. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $105.23 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.