LPL Financial LLC Buys 21,241 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 704,168 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 21,241 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.15% of Target worth $109,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Target by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after acquiring an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Target by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 272,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Target by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,035,326 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $301,310,000 after buying an additional 5,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $125.01 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $57.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.69.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on TGT. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.13.

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.