Ballast Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ballast Inc. raised its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,988 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 82.8% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 150.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 213 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kenfarb & CO. raised its position in Target by 81.3% during the second quarter. Kenfarb & CO. now owns 290 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $177.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $177.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $153.95 and a 200-day moving average of $134.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.