1,116 Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Purchased by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,116 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $174,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TAP Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the third quarter worth approximately $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Target by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 20.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,484,000 after buying an additional 36,941 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 166.3% in the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 16,179 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after buying an additional 10,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter worth about $107,367,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

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 transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 1.6 %

Target stock opened at $155.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.55. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $107.13 and a twelve month high of $181.86. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.55 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 issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TGT. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Daiwa America upgraded Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

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.