Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 11,060 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 48.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,633 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,060 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its position in Target by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were 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 owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TGT. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $163.31 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.17. The stock has a market cap of $75.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. 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 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.