Abacus Planning Group Inc. Acquires 109 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,874 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 56.1% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Target by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Target by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in Target by 0.3% in the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.5 %

TGT opened at $149.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $69.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on TGT shares. 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. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last 90 days. 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.