Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Purchases 6,575 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 159.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,698 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,575 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Target by 0.6% in the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Target by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.69.

Target Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $155.29 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $148.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.