Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,249 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,270 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $7,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Target during the second quarter worth $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value 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 $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “inline” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Down 0.5 %

TGT opened at $147.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $68.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $147.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.06.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued 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. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

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.