Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 398,680 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,992 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.09% of Target worth $62,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 9,940.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 711.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after purchasing an additional 768,479 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 1st quarter valued at $107,367,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after buying an additional 470,647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty 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 $179.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’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 value of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This trade 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 in the last three months. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Up 1.6 %

TGT stock opened at $155.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $152.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.55. 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 $107.13 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. Research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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