Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Has $29,000 Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 75.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 206 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 638 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $29,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,459 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 37,301.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $187,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,222 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Target by 56.3% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $313,925,000 after buying an additional 1,022,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth about $87,075,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Target stock traded up $1.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $165.73. The stock had a trading volume of 982,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,982. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $76.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.61.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on TGT. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven equities research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

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.