Bailard Inc. Purchases 3,037 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Bailard Inc. lifted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,184 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,037 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $12,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 200.8% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.37. 2,630,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,722,639. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $164.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.46. 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 twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. Target’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. 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 2.66%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.