Focused Investors LLC Decreases Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Focused Investors LLC reduced its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 676,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,700 shares during the period. Target accounts for approximately 3.2% of Focused Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $105,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Adero Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 8.2% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Target by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Target by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 395,076 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,577,000 after acquiring an additional 23,741 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $152.13 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.39. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $127.19 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $70.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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.