QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 52.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 103,971 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,674 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $16,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Target during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Target during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Target by 56.1% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Target by 156.5% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.6 %

Target stock opened at $149.99 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.11. The company has a market cap of $69.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $105.23 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

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.