Golden State Equity Partners Boosts Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Golden State Equity Partners boosted its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,623 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,744 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Target were worth $1,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Target by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,923,428,000 after acquiring an additional 702,565 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after buying an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Target by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $569,001,000 after buying an additional 134,262 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Target by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,569,969 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $394,739,000 after buying an additional 287,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew 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 buying an additional 127,491 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Up 0.2 %

TGT stock opened at $164.74 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.25. The company has a market capitalization of $76.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on TGT shares. Barclays lifted 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. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Eleven equities research 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.