Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 16.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,566 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,119 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carnick & Kubik Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Carnick & Kubik Group LLC now owns 60,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,268,000 after purchasing an additional 11,376 shares during the period. Breiter Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breiter Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,348 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 32,220 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 86,320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of Target stock opened at $110.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $109.29 and a 200 day moving average of $93.06. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $60.15 and a 12 month high of $114.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.21.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.98%.
Target announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the retailer to buy up to 9.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. Citigroup upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $115.00 price target on Target and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Raymond James began coverage on Target in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Target from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Buckingham Research increased their price target on Target from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.02.
In other Target news, insider Don H. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $220,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,387,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert M. Harrison sold 13,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.66, for a total value of $1,417,096.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,478 shares of company stock worth $8,915,363 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Target Profile
Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers beauty and household essentials; food assortments, including perishables, dry grocery, dairy, and frozen items; and apparel, accessories, home décor products, electronics, toys, seasonal offerings, and other merchandise.
Read More: Federal Reserve
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TGT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Target Co. (NYSE:TGT).
Receive News & Ratings for Target Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Target and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
