WASHINGTON TRUST Co Raises Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,196 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Target were worth $740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in Target by 150.6% in the second quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 213 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kenfarb & CO. raised its stake in shares of Target by 81.3% during the second quarter. Kenfarb & CO. now owns 290 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.73.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $176.23. 1,487,091 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,909,696. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $176.33. 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 50 day moving average of $153.23 and a 200-day moving average of $134.36. The stock has a market cap of $81.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.13.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid 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 2.50%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.