Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,174 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 200.8% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $158.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.54. The stock has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted 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. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Truist Financial lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.