Forsta AP Fonden Purchases 10,800 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 123,600 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 10,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Target were worth $19,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 56.1% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 156.5% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TGT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Melius Research began coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $151.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $105.23 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $153.38 and a 200-day moving average of $151.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.