Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $1.17 Million Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,194 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,416 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,923,428,000 after acquiring an additional 702,565 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Target by 4.6% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,570,634 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,725,904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,881 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 95,980.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,537,742 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,762,865,000 after acquiring an additional 18,518,448 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 1.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,300,283 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,371,516,000 after acquiring an additional 80,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE TGT traded up $2.87 on Thursday, reaching $167.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,076,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,758,166. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $162.87 and its 200-day moving average is $140.34.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 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 at this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

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.