Community Bank N.A. Increases Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,292 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in Target by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $1.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.37. 2,630,551 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,722,639. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $164.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.46. The company has a market cap of $76.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.27%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, 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. In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of a number of research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.