Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,078 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $2,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth about $209,000. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Target by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,464 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,527,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Target by 7.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 79,245 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,351,000 after purchasing an additional 5,192 shares during the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 5,595 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Target during the third quarter worth approximately $287,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $152.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $127.19 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $152.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.47.

About Target

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.