Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 51,357.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,218,204 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.26% of Target worth $173,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 82.8% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 200.8% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of TGT stock traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $158.04. 2,205,362 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,672,626. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $166.17 and its 200-day moving average is $144.30. The company has a market cap of $73.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week 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, 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s 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.