National Pension Service Raises Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

National Pension Service lifted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 801,142 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,581 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.17% of Target worth $114,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 3,574 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in Target by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 70,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $346,000. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $250,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $159.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,574,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,675,110. The company has a market cap of $73.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

About Target

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.