Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 35.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,483 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 94,502 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Target were worth $25,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after acquiring an additional 417,818 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,357,525,000 after purchasing an additional 137,180 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $759,810,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised 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 valued at $558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 470,647 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $148.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, 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 current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.01.

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 business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.68.

About Target

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.