Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,400 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $3,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Target in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $125.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.13.

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.