Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Stock Position Lifted by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,333 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Target in the first quarter worth about $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 711.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,762,000 after acquiring an additional 768,479 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter valued at about $107,367,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Down 0.4 %

Target stock opened at $156.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $128.37 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given 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 2.87%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on TGT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Melius Research began coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.