Summit Trail Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,532 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,401,142,000 after purchasing an additional 417,818 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 11.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after acquiring an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Target by 17.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 470,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Target by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 9.7% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $458,131,000 after buying an additional 272,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 1.1 %

TGT stock opened at $154.75 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.98. The company 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 (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following 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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

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.