HBW Advisory Services LLC Acquires 2,085 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,749 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $2,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 40,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,733,000 after buying an additional 2,219 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 53,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,653,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of Target by 1,272.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 68,788 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,797,000 after buying an additional 63,776 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Target by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 14,574 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,076,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,217,305 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,369,000 after acquiring an additional 171,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Target stock traded up $3.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $153.23. 1,899,956 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,991,133. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $149.03 and its 200-day moving average is $154.18.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.92%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “inline” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on Target in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.