Great Waters Wealth Management Trims Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Great Waters Wealth Management lowered its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 17.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,684 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 353 shares during the quarter. Great Waters Wealth Management’s holdings in Target were worth $263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 711.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,762,000 after buying an additional 768,479 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Target during the first quarter worth $107,367,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 44.6% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,765,496 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $312,864,000 after acquiring an additional 544,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 17.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 470,647 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

TGT traded up $3.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $152.88. 3,557,483 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,000,033. 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 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.08. The stock has a market cap of $70.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target 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.