Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. decreased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 48.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,633 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,060 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Plancorp LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 2.1% in the first quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,520 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 7,059 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 494 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 4.4% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 0.4% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,760 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of TGT opened at $163.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $162.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.17.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% 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.