Mather Group LLC. Has $14.29 Million Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,355 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,783 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Target were worth $14,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 15,009.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $250,244,000 after buying an additional 1,745,459 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 37,301.2% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $187,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,222 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Target by 56.3% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $313,925,000 after buying an additional 1,022,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at about $87,075,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $1.03 on Monday, reaching $163.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 509,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,655,748. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $75.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 firm’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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on TGT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target 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 transaction of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Corporate 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.