Allstate Corp Purchases New Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,677 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 1,592.0% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 8,494 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 7,992 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in Target by 14.9% in the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,108 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Target by 142.6% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Target in the third quarter valued at about $296,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its position in Target by 11.0% in the third quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 40,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,491,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were 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 $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 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.41.

Target Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Target stock traded up $1.06 on Friday, reaching $145.47. 1,150,650 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,825,011. The company has a market capitalization of $67.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.16. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $165.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. Target’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.