First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,575 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,224 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 122,706 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 11.4% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 1st quarter valued at about $13,958,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Target by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 55,392 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,816,000 after purchasing an additional 8,185 shares during the period. Finally, TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Target during the third quarter worth approximately $2,403,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $148.50 on Thursday. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $105.23 and a fifty-two week 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $153.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.47.

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.