JLB & Associates Inc. Has $1.66 Million Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

JLB & Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,675 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target during the second quarter worth $31,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “inline” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $150.40 on Thursday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.22. The firm has a market cap of $69.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 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 (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.