Guardian Investment Management Sells 200 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Guardian Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Target were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Target by 3,577.5% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Target by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Target by 131.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 702 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Ergoteles LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 191.5% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 11,794 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 7,748 shares during the period. 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 related news, 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Target Trading Up 1.3 %

Target stock traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $166.59. 2,050,319 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,771,779. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.34.

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, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

Target 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.