Moran Wealth Management LLC Invests $6.37 Million in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 40,873 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $6,370,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 9,940.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer's stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Target in the first quarter worth about $335,870,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $107,367,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer's stock worth $639,050,000 after purchasing an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on TGT. Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Melius Research assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.73.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 over the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE TGT traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $122.42. The stock had a trading volume of 8,634,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,256,779. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $152.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.12. The firm has a market cap of $56.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Target's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Target's payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

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.