Candriam S.C.A. Has $14.20 Million Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 95,932 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,671 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Target were worth $14,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Little House Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth $1,041,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Target by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 642,340 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $112,686,000 after buying an additional 122,706 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Target by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,618,000 after buying an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 1st quarter valued at $13,958,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association grew its stake in Target by 134.6% in the 4th quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 103,785 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,781,000 after buying an additional 59,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TGT. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Down 0.4 %

Target stock opened at $151.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.63 and a 200-day moving average of $155.09.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.