Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 71 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,947 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Target by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 200.8% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 1.3 %

TGT stock traded up $2.06 on Tuesday, hitting $160.41. 2,837,597 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,680,698. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $166.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.90. 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 current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. HSBC upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

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.