BNP Paribas Invests $265,000 in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,700 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Target by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 8.6% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,619,000 after acquiring an additional 9,510 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the third quarter worth approximately $967,000. TAP Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the third quarter worth approximately $2,403,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 8.7% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the 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 owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.30.

Target Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $130.11 on Thursday. Target Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $149.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

Target 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.