Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,343 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TAP Consulting LLC bought a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Target by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,484,000 after acquiring an additional 36,941 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its holdings in Target by 166.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 16,179 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 10,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Target in the first quarter valued at about $107,367,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America raised Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last three months. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Target Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $152.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $152.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $127.19 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

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.