Auxano Advisors LLC Takes Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Auxano Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,067 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $864,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 200.8% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Target stock traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $160.98. The company had a trading volume of 3,425,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,661,962. The company has a market capitalization of $74.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target 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.