White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,272 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Target by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Target by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,619,000 after acquiring an additional 9,510 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at $967,000. TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter worth $2,403,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Target by 8.7% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Melius Research started coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.30.

Target Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $132.39 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $148.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.59. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $60.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. Target’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.