Savvy Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,724 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Target by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Target by 11.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after buying an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Target by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 470,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Target by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after acquiring an additional 435,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $458,131,000 after acquiring an additional 272,521 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $154.99 on Thursday. 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 one year low of $108.08 and a one year high of $181.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company 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%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research began coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

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.