Grove Bank & Trust Decreases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Grove Bank & Trust trimmed its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,059 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Target were worth $151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TGT. Plancorp LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 2.1% in the first quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,520 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Target by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 7,059 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 494 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Target by 4.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 0.4% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,760 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,517,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $167.83 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.41. The stock has a market cap of $77.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share 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 2.62%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. 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. Gordon Haskett lifted their target price on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.04.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.