Griffin Asset Management Inc. Has $9.74 Million Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 62,497 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. Target makes up approximately 1.1% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $9,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Target by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after buying an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Target by 17.5% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Target by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after acquiring an additional 435,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Target by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $458,131,000 after acquiring an additional 272,521 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on TGT. Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Target in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.69.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $160.65 on Wednesday. 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 has a market cap of $74.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.98. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $105.23 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About Target

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.