Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 10th, 2023

Target logo Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 33,849 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,606,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Target by 22.1% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,907 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $213,000. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at $303,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 3.2% in the first quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 4,155 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on TGT shares. TheStreet downgraded shares of Target from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, June 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Target from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $182.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $177.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, June 9th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.10.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.75, for a total transaction of $234,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,491. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $130.05 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.93. The firm has a market cap of $60.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $125.08 and a 1 year high of $183.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT – Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 17th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $24.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.28 billion. Target had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 24.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.25 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.59%.

Target Profile

(Free Report)

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.