MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 7,242 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 136,286 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,242 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $17,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Trust lifted its holdings in Target by 14.9% in the first quarter. American Trust now owns 22,976 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,806,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 3.1% in the second quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 28,226 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,723,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Target by 27.3% in the second quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 11,090 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,378 shares during the period. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at about $459,000. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its position in Target by 9.8% in the first quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 5,426 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. 78.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Don H. Liu sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $2,080,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,354,660. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Target from $220.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Target from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Target from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. TD Cowen cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Target from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.39.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $129.20 on Tuesday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 15th. The retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.62. Target had a return on equity of 30.69% and a net margin of 3.40%. The firm had revenue of $25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. Target’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 7.56 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 56.12%.

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.