RPG Investment Advisory LLC Decreases Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

RPG Investment Advisory LLC lowered its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,682 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 476 shares during the quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $7,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 11.4% during 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 period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $558,898,000 after purchasing an additional 470,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Target by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 9.7% during the 2nd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TGT. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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 report on Thursday, September 19th. Melius Research began coverage on Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 1.6 %

Target stock opened at $155.72 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $152.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.55. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $107.13 and a 52 week 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 $71.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.28%.

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.