Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC Reduces Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC lessened its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 61.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,453 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 21,443 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC's holdings in Target were worth $1,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Little House Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the first quarter worth $1,041,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Target by 23.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 642,340 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $112,686,000 after purchasing an additional 122,706 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 11.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at about $13,958,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Target by 864.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,613 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,205,000 after purchasing an additional 51,639 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TGT. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Target from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.69.

Target Stock Down 0.5 %

Target stock traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $155.18. The company had a trading volume of 3,067,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,010,278. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $148.75 and a 200 day moving average of $154.47. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $71.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.