Prospera Financial Services Inc Purchases 2,300 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,250 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Target were worth $4,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 3.4% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,243,928 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $193,879,000 after purchasing an additional 41,394 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 2.3% in the third quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 115,221 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,958,000 after buying an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in Target by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 118,798 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,516,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in Target by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 9,511 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Target by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on TGT. Citigroup upped their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America raised their target price 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, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

Insider Transactions 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 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 owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Stock Performance

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

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

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.