Capital Analysts LLC Cuts Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Capital Analysts LLC trimmed its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,706 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 642 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Services Automobile Association raised its holdings in shares of Target by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 44,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $605,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Target by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 519,634 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $73,819,000 after buying an additional 24,066 shares during the period. Finally, Asio Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 109.9% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 27,267 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after buying an additional 14,274 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.7 %

TGT opened at $164.47 on Thursday. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $162.87 and its 200-day moving average is $140.34. The company has a market capitalization of $75.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Gordon Haskett raised their target price on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

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.