Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 235 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $4,923,428,000 after acquiring an additional 702,565 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Target by 26.5% in the third 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Target by 2.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $569,001,000 after buying an additional 134,262 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Target by 8.8% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Target by 3.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $383,586,000 after acquiring an additional 127,491 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now 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 90 days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

TGT traded up $2.06 on Tuesday, hitting $160.41. 2,837,597 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,680,698. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.90. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $74.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. 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, HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

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.