Conning Inc. Has $34.59 Million Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Conning Inc. lowered its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 243,349 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 38,488 shares during the period. Target comprises 1.2% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Conning Inc. owned 0.05% of Target worth $34,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet upgraded Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.04.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock traded down $5.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $166.12. 3,551,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,956,052. 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 has a market capitalization of $76.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $161.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.20.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related 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 sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of Target 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.