State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 169,892 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Target were worth $26,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Target by 6.8% during the second 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. increased 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 in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 470,647 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Target by 16.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $461,031,000 after buying an additional 435,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was 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 valued at $8,290,995 over the last 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock traded down $1.13 on Friday, hitting $149.78. The stock had a trading volume of 3,323,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,336,026. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $152.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.73. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $105.23 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $69.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.