Harvest Investment Advisors LLC Buys 1,300 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Harvest Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,785 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Target by 83.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 10,957 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,708,000 after acquiring an additional 4,976 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 416,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $64,958,000 after purchasing an additional 43,791 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 85,826 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,377,000 after buying an additional 3,896 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 0.5% in the third quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 28,583 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,455,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Up 2.5 %

Target stock opened at $132.39 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $146.39 and its 200-day moving average is $147.59. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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 is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on TGT shares. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.30.

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.