Blue Chip Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 130,179 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,348 shares during the period. Target comprises about 1.9% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $18,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $277,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $14,489,000. Magnus Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $291,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $709,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, 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

TGT traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $164.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,085,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,821,609. The company has a market cap of $76.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G 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. The business 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.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

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.