AR Asset Management Inc. Purchases 125 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

AR Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,570 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Target makes up about 2.1% of AR Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. AR Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $8,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Little House Capital LLC bought a new stake in Target in the first quarter valued at about $1,041,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Target by 23.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 642,340 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $112,686,000 after purchasing an additional 122,706 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 11.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Target in the first quarter valued at about $13,958,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association increased its holdings in Target by 134.6% in the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 103,785 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,781,000 after purchasing an additional 59,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The sale 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 the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on TGT. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Daiwa America raised Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $156.52 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $148.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.