Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 39.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,535 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,860 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Target were worth $4,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $155.18 on Friday. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week 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. The company has a market capitalization of $71.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $148.75 and a 200 day moving average of $154.56.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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

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.