Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,000 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,247,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 3,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth about $681,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth about $174,000. River Global Investors LLP grew its holdings in Target by 4.1% during the third quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 16,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,566,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new stake in Target in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,351,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on TGT shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.47.

Target Trading Up 1.6 %

TGT opened at $155.72 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $152.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $107.13 and a 12 month high of $181.86. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

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.