Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Increases Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 291,422 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Target were worth $43,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $759,810,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Target by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,683,228 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $382,145,000 after acquiring an additional 984,464 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $125,536,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $107,367,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 owned by company insiders.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $148.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.11. 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. The company has a market cap of $68.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Company 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.