Northwest Financial Advisors Makes New Investment in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 629 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 raised its stake in Target by 26.5% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $569,001,000 after purchasing an additional 134,262 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted 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 worth $394,739,000 after purchasing an additional 287,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 3.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $383,586,000 after buying an additional 127,491 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, 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 value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Target news, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TGT. TheStreet raised shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $163.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $167.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.16. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid 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 2.70%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.