Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,207 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,471 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $5,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,389 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Target by 18.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 56,298 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,225,000 after buying an additional 8,732 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Target by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 30,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the third quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Target by 1.0% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 46,027 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Gordon Haskett increased their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $158.04. 3,233,931 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,694,137. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.39. The firm has a market cap of $73.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.17.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

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.