3,571 Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Bought by HTLF Bank

HTLF Bank bought a new position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 3,571 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Plancorp LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,520 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 7,059 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 494 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,760 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $168.30 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.95. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

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.