Fmr LLC Buys 1,046,044 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Fmr LLC grew its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 2.17% of Target worth $1,555,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Target by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 549,363 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $85,624,000 after purchasing an additional 19,790 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in shares of Target by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 33,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target 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 transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $150.31 and a 200-day moving average of $149.05. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

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.