Financial Advocates Investment Management Raises Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 67 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Target were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings 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 worth $647,652,000 after buying an additional 279,656 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 470,647 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Target by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $150.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $153.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $105.23 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS 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 $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

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.