Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 6,594 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,843 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,594 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $9,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Target by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Target by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,316,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $639,050,000 after buying an additional 440,307 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Target by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,114,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $461,031,000 after acquiring an additional 435,229 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 9.7% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,094,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $458,131,000 after acquiring an additional 272,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $475,914,000 after acquiring an additional 56,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the completion of 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 12.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Target Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $130.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $150.82 and a 200 day moving average of $149.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.63.

About Target

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.