Truist Financial Corp Lowers Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Truist Financial Corp lowered its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 315,987 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 70,366 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $45,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Target by 5.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 141,326 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,626,000 after acquiring an additional 7,377 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its stake in Target by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Target by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,674 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in Target by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,067 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. 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 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $164.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $76.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $165.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.