Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 5,667 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,667 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $4,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Target by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after acquiring an additional 279,656 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Target by 11.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Target by 16.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 9.7% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $458,131,000 after purchasing an additional 272,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Target by 0.3% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,035,326 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $301,310,000 after buying an additional 5,586 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $121.66 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.92. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price target on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.13.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.