Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases 151 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,328 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Target were worth $9,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,923,428,000 after purchasing an additional 702,565 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Target by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $569,001,000 after purchasing an additional 134,262 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Target by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,569,969 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $394,739,000 after purchasing an additional 287,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $383,586,000 after purchasing an additional 127,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $164.74 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.25. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a PEG 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.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 value of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TGT. Citigroup increased their target price on Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

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.