First American Trust FSB Invests $254,000 in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

First American Trust FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,784 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Target by 95,980.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,537,742 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,762,865,000 after acquiring an additional 18,518,448 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $725,870,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $250,244,000 after buying an additional 1,745,459 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 37,301.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Target by 252.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,166,161 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $358,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551,551 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT traded down $1.93 on Tuesday, hitting $163.08. 801,085 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,758,322. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $162.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly 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. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.