Leavell Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,095 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.4% in the first quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 39,226 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,951,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new position in Target during the first quarter worth $509,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 29.6% during the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 8,509 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Pegasus Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in Target during the first quarter worth $240,000. Finally, Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. acquired a new position in Target during the first quarter worth $19,936,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following 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. Insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price target on Target from $191.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.41.

Target Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $1.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $144.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,659,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,853,752. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.38. The company has a market capitalization of $66.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.43 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 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.