Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $13.53 Million Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,409 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Target were worth $13,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter worth $28,000. Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in Target by 85.0% in the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective 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 given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $154.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $148.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 2.89%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the 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 $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.