Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,444 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,492 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $11,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in Target by 1.2% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 20.8% during the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Target by 5.3% in the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in Target by 0.4% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,444,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in Target by 9.7% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:TGT traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $153.57. 196,394 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,916,530. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.52. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $127.19 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $70.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup upped their price target 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, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.