Valmark Advisers Inc. Purchases 585 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,972 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 585 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 200.8% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

TGT traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $164.74. 2,085,518 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,821,609. The company has a market cap of $76.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.25. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. 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, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.