Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Buys New Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,203 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $967,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in Target during the second quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target during the second quarter worth $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 156.5% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $150.31 and its 200-day moving average is $149.05. The firm has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.30.

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.