Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC

Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC lowered its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,437 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Target accounts for approximately 2.1% of Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $4,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after purchasing an additional 417,818 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Target by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after buying an additional 279,656 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Target by 11.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after buying an additional 440,307 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Target by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $558,898,000 after buying an additional 470,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Target by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after buying an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “inline” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.69.

Target Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $155.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.47. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $71.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Activity

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

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.