M&R Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 451 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $70,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after acquiring an additional 417,818 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Target by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after buying an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after acquiring an additional 440,307 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 17.5% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 470,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $461,031,000 after acquiring an additional 435,229 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE TGT opened at $150.40 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.96 and its 200 day moving average is $154.22. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $69.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen raised 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, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.