Acadian Asset Management LLC Acquires 358,114 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 239.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 507,769 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 358,114 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Target worth $75,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Little House Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at about $1,041,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Target by 23.6% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 642,340 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $112,686,000 after acquiring an additional 122,706 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 11.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,618,000 after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Target in the first quarter worth $13,958,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association increased its position in shares of Target by 134.6% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 103,785 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,781,000 after purchasing an additional 59,553 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $151.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $69.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.68.

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.