AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 768,479 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 711.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 768,479 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.19% of Target worth $129,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Target by 0.6% during the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 20.8% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 5.3% during the second 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 lifted its holdings in Target by 0.3% during the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,868,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $155.91 on Friday. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $71.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.57 and a 200 day moving average of $154.64. 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 posted its 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. Target had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 sale, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total transaction of $153,130.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on TGT. UBS Group boosted their price target on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Target to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.69.

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.