Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 350.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,889 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 82.8% in 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. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 200.8% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. TheStreet raised Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. HSBC upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $158.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,802,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,973,106. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.39. 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 $73.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s 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.