Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Takes Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 539 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $80,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Target by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,401,142,000 after acquiring an additional 417,818 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Target by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,357,525,000 after purchasing an additional 137,180 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $759,810,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 11.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after buying an additional 440,307 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Target in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $151.28. 4,045,069 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,037,096. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $147.63 and a 200-day moving average of $155.09.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 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 company posted $1.80 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.