Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Decreases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,813 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 920 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Target were worth $3,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,923,428,000 after purchasing an additional 702,565 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Target by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after buying an additional 868,274 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Target by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,357,525,000 after buying an additional 137,180 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $759,810,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $0.82 on Friday, hitting $145.23. The stock had a trading volume of 3,550,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,405,073. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $164.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.85. The company has a market capitalization of $67.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.86. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday. HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Target from $178.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.41.

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.