Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $73.26 Million Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 494,886 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 38,821 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Target worth $73,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 148.6% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Retirement Group LLC lifted its position in Target by 85.0% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $151.28. The company had a trading volume of 4,045,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,037,096. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $147.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.06. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $69.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

About Target

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.