Headlands Technologies LLC Acquires Shares of 30,621 Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 30,621 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,196,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 101.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Target by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 56,384 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,622,000 after buying an additional 6,253 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Target by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,737,638 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $370,074,000 after acquiring an additional 387,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Target by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 3,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Target Stock Up 2.9%

TGT stock opened at $105.44 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $100.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.71. The company has a market capitalization of $47.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.22. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. Target’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital set a $95.00 price target on Target in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.65.

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.