Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Acquires 2,595 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,501 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $10,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 15,009.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 37,301.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $187,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,222 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 51,357.7% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $313,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Gordon Haskett raised their price target on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Target Price Performance

TGT traded down $0.82 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $159.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,574,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,675,110. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $166.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.90. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (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 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.