transform.position on Instaniated object does not match inspector

When a missile misses the player, I have it instantiate an empty (dud) and assign that as the target.

However, the transform coordinates of the dud show as 0,0,0 ; the coordinates of the prefab. That shows when I use print on the console.

In the inspector, the transform shows as the position that was generated within the script (dudv3).

So the missile heads to the wrong position, 0,0,0, instead of dudv3.

Dud creation code

         void NoTarget()
         {
             Vector3 dudv3 = new Vector3 (transform.position.x, transform.position.y, dudZValue);  //creates target for s200 to crash into
             Instantiate(dud, dudv3, Quaternion.identity);
             Destroy (gameObject, noTargetDestroyTime);
             print (dud.transform.position);
         }

Targeting code

     void Targeting()
     {
         if (GameObject.FindGameObjectsWithTag ("explosion").Length != 0) 
         {
             target = GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag ("explosion").gameObject.transform; //changes the target to the explosion
         }
 
         if (GameObject.FindGameObjectsWithTag ("explosion").Length == 0) 
         {
             if (GameObject.FindWithTag ("Player").transform.position.z > transform.position.z)
             {
                 target = GameObject.FindWithTag ("Player").transform; //changes the target to the player
             }
             if (GameObject.FindWithTag ("Player").transform.position.z < transform.position.z) {  //if infront of player
                 if (GameObject.FindWithTag ("dud") == null) { //makes sure the dud gameobject doesn't exist
                     NoTarget ();
                 } else {
                     target = dud.transform;
                 }//end else
             }// end infront if statement
         }
 
 
     }//end Targeting