Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Lowers Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lessened its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,884 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Services Automobile Association boosted its holdings in Target by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 44,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $605,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Target by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 519,634 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $73,819,000 after acquiring an additional 24,066 shares during the period. Finally, Asio Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 109.9% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 27,267 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 14,274 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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 company’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 directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were 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 owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.4 %

Target stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $166.51. 1,889,685 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,736,716. The company’s 50-day moving average is $164.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.86. 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 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $76.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share 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 given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

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.