Axa S.A. Buys 5,184 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Axa S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 107,751 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Target were worth $15,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in Target by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 0.6% during the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 20.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Target by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co grew its holdings in Target by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Target from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Target in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Target from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $155.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.65. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.