Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,947 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Target by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,923,428,000 after buying an additional 702,565 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,900 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Target by 2.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $569,001,000 after purchasing an additional 134,262 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Target by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,569,969 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $394,739,000 after purchasing an additional 287,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Target by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $383,586,000 after purchasing an additional 127,491 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of 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 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock traded up $2.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $160.41. 2,837,597 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,680,698. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $74.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.48 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.79 and a 200 day moving average of $145.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.