Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Grows Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 193,933 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,037 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Target were worth $30,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 17.7% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Target by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its position in Target by 37.5% during the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,966 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in Target by 4.5% during the second quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 16,482 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Target by 8.5% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 88,158 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,928 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $132.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.78.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 paid 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 payout ratio is 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. HSBC downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, 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 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.30.

Insider Activity at Target

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

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.