Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Position Lessened by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 230,097 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 56,044 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $32,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its stake in Target by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 2,109 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Target by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 2,262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $241,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth $730,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE TGT traded up $1.15 on Wednesday, reaching $164.47. The stock had a trading volume of 3,681,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,788,240. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.17. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $75.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.