HM Payson & Co. Boosts Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,467 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Target by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after buying an additional 279,656 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 11.4% during 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 last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Target by 17.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 470,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $458,131,000 after purchasing an additional 272,521 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 the stock in a transaction 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

Target Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $150.00 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $105.23 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $69.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.50.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.28%.

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.