RW Investment Management LLC Acquires 163 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

RW Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,138 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 163 shares during the quarter. RW Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after buying an additional 417,818 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew 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 period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 17.5% during the first 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Target by 16.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 9.7% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $458,131,000 after purchasing an additional 272,521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of TGT opened at $154.75 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.98. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.