Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,978 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 509 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Target were worth $13,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 9,940.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Target by 711.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after acquiring an additional 768,479 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Target in the 1st quarter worth approximately $107,367,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Target by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 470,647 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % 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 business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $152.13 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $152.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.46. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $127.19 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $70.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released 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. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target 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 investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Target Company 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.