Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 33.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,968 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,678 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $7,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “inline” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.68.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $154.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Target 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.