Wade G W & Inc. Buys 197 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Wade G W & Inc. increased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,113 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Wade G W & Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,923,428,000 after purchasing an additional 702,565 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Target by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Target by 2.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $569,001,000 after buying an additional 134,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Target by 8.8% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,569,969 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $394,739,000 after purchasing an additional 287,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.7 %

TGT stock traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $159.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 741,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,602,718. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.91. The stock has a market cap of $73.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. 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 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 earnings per share. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.42 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TGT. Citigroup raised Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $206.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 is available through the SEC website. In other Target 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last three months. Corporate 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.