Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Sells 617 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,317 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 617 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $2,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 82.8% in the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 200.8% in 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. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Barclays raised their price target on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction 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 business’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 $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $159.59. 2,574,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,675,110. The company has a market cap of $73.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.90. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.