VeraBank N.A. Acquires Shares of 1,614 Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

VeraBank N.A. purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,614 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 1,745,459 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Target by 37,301.2% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $187,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,222 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 51,357.7% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,834,000 after buying an additional 1,218,204 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Target by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $313,925,000 after buying an additional 1,022,437 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Target

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Target from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $158.04. 3,802,181 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,973,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $73.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $166.46 and its 200-day moving average is $144.72. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.27%.

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.