US Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

US Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,310 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Target by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,923,428,000 after purchasing an additional 702,565 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Target by 26.5% during 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 raised its position in Target by 2.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $569,001,000 after acquiring an additional 134,262 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.8% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Target by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $383,586,000 after purchasing an additional 127,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on TGT shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Target from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Target Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE TGT traded down $1.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $162.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,329,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,637,018. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Company 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.