Premier Fund Managers Ltd Acquires New Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 44,379 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,886,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TAP Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter worth $2,403,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Target by 8.7% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 3.4% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,243,928 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $193,879,000 after purchasing an additional 41,394 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Target by 20.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 217,214 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,484,000 after acquiring an additional 36,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 166.3% during the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 16,179 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,000 after acquiring an additional 10,103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $156.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $152.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.90. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $128.37 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is 46.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Target from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.47.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the business’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 value of $997,715.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock worth $8,290,995 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.