V Square Quantitative Management LLC Acquires 1,572 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 16.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,374 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 17.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after acquiring an additional 470,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 acquiring an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $458,131,000 after acquiring an additional 272,521 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $155.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 201,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,943,108. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $105.23 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $151.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “inline” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

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.