Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Purchased by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 550.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,818 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,312 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Target by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 11.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 1.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Target by 16.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after purchasing an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on TGT shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.30.

Target Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $131.38 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $60.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.04.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.