Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 427 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,738 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,068,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the third quarter worth $269,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 2.6% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 43,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Target by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,288,547 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $200,833,000 after acquiring an additional 49,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in Target in the third quarter valued at about $507,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $153.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.51 and its 200 day moving average is $150.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $124.88 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business 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 firm earned $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target 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 transaction of $997,715.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius Research assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently 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.