Moran Wealth Management LLC Invests $6.37 Million in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 40,873 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,370,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after buying an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 711.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after buying an additional 768,479 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $107,367,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after buying an additional 440,307 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $121.73 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.33 and a 200 day moving average of $150.12. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on TGT. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.90.

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.