Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,276 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,029 shares during the quarter. Target accounts for about 1.8% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $11,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 7,059 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 494 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 4.4% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 0.4% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,760 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded down $1.69 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $163.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,532,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,668,841. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.49. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target 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.