Slocum Gordon & Co LLP Acquires New Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 192 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,093,000 after purchasing an additional 12,460 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,983 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 3,655 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth about $346,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Target by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,063 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $152.44. 377,660 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,016,028. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.57 and its 200-day moving average is $155.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com raised Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.68.

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.