Fiducient Advisors LLC Takes Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Fiducient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,732 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,923,428,000 after purchasing an additional 702,565 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after buying an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Target by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $569,001,000 after buying an additional 134,262 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Target by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,569,969 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $394,739,000 after buying an additional 287,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Target by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $383,586,000 after buying an additional 127,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT traded down $2.76 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $160.97. The company had a trading volume of 3,534,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,370. The business has a 50 day moving average of $166.02 and a 200-day moving average of $144.21. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $74.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 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.