First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA Buys 200 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,539 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA’s holdings in Target were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 9,940.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in Target in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 711.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after acquiring an additional 768,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $106,493,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Target from $165.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.30.

Target Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of TGT traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $127.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,115,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,403,302. The company has a market capitalization of $58.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard H. Gomez sold 6,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $997,715.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 123,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,418,510.67. This represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.