Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $4.68 Million Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Target in the first quarter valued at $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 711.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,762,000 after purchasing an additional 768,479 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth 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 valued at $639,050,000 after buying an additional 440,307 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on TGT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $121.66 on Friday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $151.79 and its 200 day 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 firm has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 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.