Bridgewater Associates LP Has $86.26 Million Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 553,461 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 209,529 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.12% of Target worth $86,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cynosure Group LLC raised its position in Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Target by 24.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. M.D. Sass LLC raised its position in Target by 21.6% during the third quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 274,658 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,808,000 after purchasing an additional 48,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at approximately $967,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $188.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.30.

Target Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $150.31 and its 200 day moving average is $149.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 12.08 % 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.