Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 209,529 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 553,461 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 209,529 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Target were worth $86,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cynosure Group LLC increased its stake in Target by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Target by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. M.D. Sass LLC increased its stake in Target by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 274,658 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,808,000 after acquiring an additional 48,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter worth about $967,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Monday. Bank of America cut their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.30.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Target Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $150.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

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.