Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 6,594 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 59,843 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,594 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $9,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 156.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.63.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $130.50 on Tuesday. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.6 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target 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 value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.