Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp Sells 358 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp lessened its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,819 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp’s holdings in Target were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Target by 3,577.5% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,471 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in Target by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Target by 131.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 702 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Target during the 1st quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Ergoteles LLC boosted its stake in Target by 191.5% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 11,794 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 7,748 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT traded up $2.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $166.58. The stock had a trading volume of 3,107,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,786,931. The firm has a market cap of $76.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $162.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.34. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. HSBC raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

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.