99,691 Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Acquired by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 99,691 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $15,480,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 9,940.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 711.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after acquiring an additional 768,479 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at about $106,493,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 11.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after acquiring an additional 440,307 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Citigroup cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $132.31 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.45. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $60.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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 $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.51%.

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.