Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Purchased by Ethos Financial Group LLC

Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,029 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC raised its stake in Target by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 36,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,154,000 after purchasing an additional 5,492 shares during the period. AR Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Target by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. AR Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,445 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,324,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Loudon Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 22,789 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,040 shares during the period. Summa Corp. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $256,000. Finally, ETF Store Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on TGT. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded up $4.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $164.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,537,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,663,545. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.00. The firm has a market cap of $76.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17.

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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’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 transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target 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.