Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Acquires 67,105 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 118.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 123,716 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 67,105 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $19,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in Target by 85.0% in the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on TGT. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $158.46 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.38. The company has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a one year low of $105.23 and a one year high of $181.86. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS 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 $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

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.