Martingale Asset Management L P Increases Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 21.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,523 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,352 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Target were worth $2,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. FMR LLC raised its stake in Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 279,656 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 11.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after acquiring an additional 440,307 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Target by 1.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Target by 16.2% during the 2nd 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. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Target Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $132.31 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Monday, November 25th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.30.

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.