L & S Advisors Inc Buys Shares of 41,534 Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 41,534 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,473,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 704,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $109,752,000 after purchasing an additional 21,241 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group lifted its stake in Target by 2.9% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 5,548 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 2.1% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 66,594 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,370,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 14,466 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,255,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $122.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $56.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.33 and its 200-day moving average is $150.12. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 46.28%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,210,768.81. This represents a 12.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,348 shares of company stock valued at $8,290,995. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.03.

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.