River Global Investors LLP Grows Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

River Global Investors LLP increased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,683 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,111 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Target were worth $2,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 15,009.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $250,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Target by 37,301.2% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $187,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,222 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Target by 51,357.7% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $313,925,000 after buying an additional 1,022,437 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Eleven research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Target Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $158.04. The stock had a trading volume of 3,802,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,973,106. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $73.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $166.46 and its 200 day moving average is $144.72.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.