South Dakota Investment Council Has $19.32 Million Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,651 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,060 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Target were worth $19,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Services Automobile Association raised its stake in shares of Target by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 44,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $605,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Target by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 519,634 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $73,819,000 after purchasing an additional 24,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC increased its stake in Target by 109.9% in the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 27,267 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after buying an additional 14,274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target 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. Gordon Haskett lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $166.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,889,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,736,716. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $76.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio 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.