Simplicity Wealth LLC Has $210,000 Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Simplicity Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 88.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,349 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,029 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Target by 864.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,613 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,205,000 after acquiring an additional 51,639 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth approximately $864,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth $264,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $157.97 on Tuesday. 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 50-day moving average of $150.35 and a 200-day moving average of $153.10. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $105.23 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “inline” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.