Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Purchased by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 51,357.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,218,204 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $173,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 82.8% during the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 200.8% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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 Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of Target 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT traded up $1.61 on Thursday, reaching $158.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,205,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,672,626. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month 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 stock has a market cap of $73.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $166.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.30.

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. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

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.