Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Sells 249 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,950 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $802,000. Eley Financial Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Target by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 7,421 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 85,184 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,132,000 after buying an additional 3,037 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 19,292 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,748,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,538 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. 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 insiders.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $164.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,085,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,695,829. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $76.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.02. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid 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 yield of 2.67%. Target’s 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.