ASB Consultores LLC Reduces Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

ASB Consultores LLC reduced its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 38.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,528 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 962 shares during the period. ASB Consultores LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Target in the 1st quarter valued at about $335,870,000. Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in Target in the first quarter valued at about $125,536,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Target during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $107,367,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,765,496 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $312,864,000 after purchasing an additional 544,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 470,647 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $154.75 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $25.02 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.68.

Target Company 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.