Advocate Group LLC Increases Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Advocate Group LLC increased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,482 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the quarter. Target accounts for about 1.6% of Advocate Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $8,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Somerset Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Target by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 16,797 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,618,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its position in Target by 8.1% during the third quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 63,116 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,837,000 after acquiring an additional 4,746 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Target by 3.7% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,554 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 12.8% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Target stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $155.17. 453,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,971,192. The firm has a market cap of $71.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $149.30 and its 200 day moving average is $153.60. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $105.23 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.69.

Target Company 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.