Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,948 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Target makes up 2.2% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $19,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 15,009.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after buying an additional 1,745,459 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 37,301.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $187,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,222 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 51,357.7% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,204 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 56.3% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $313,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on TGT. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. HSBC upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Target Trading Down 0.1 %

Target stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $160.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,387,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,660,333. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $74.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.90.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.