Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $5.22 Million Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,514 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $5,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Target by 7.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 35,249 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,417 shares in the last quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,268,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,036,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 59,843 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,327,000 after acquiring an additional 6,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in Target by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 10,797 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE TGT opened at $130.50 on Tuesday. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.31. 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 $60.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly 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 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TGT. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.63.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Company 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.