Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,582 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Target by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,923,428,000 after acquiring an additional 702,565 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 2.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $569,001,000 after acquiring an additional 134,262 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Target by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,569,969 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $394,739,000 after acquiring an additional 287,748 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Target by 3.8% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $158.04 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.39. The company has a market capitalization of $73.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G 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. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Gordon Haskett boosted their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 value of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 in the last ninety days. 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.