Stiles Financial Services Inc Grows Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,005 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares during the quarter. Target comprises about 1.3% of Stiles Financial Services Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Target were worth $3,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $151.48 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $105.23 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.96.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.28%.

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.