Welch & Forbes LLC Purchases 71 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Welch & Forbes LLC raised its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,715 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,923,428,000 after acquiring an additional 702,565 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 26.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Target by 2.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $569,001,000 after acquiring an additional 134,262 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Target by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,569,969 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $394,739,000 after purchasing an additional 287,748 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $383,586,000 after purchasing an additional 127,491 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $160.87. 569,092 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,651,848. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.90. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $74.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results 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 period last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. TheStreet raised Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $206.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Target 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.