Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Purchased by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 281.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,008 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Target by 37,301.2% during the third 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 boosted its position in Target by 26.5% during the third 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. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Target by 56.3% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $313,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth $87,075,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $164.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $165.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.25. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid 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 2.67%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.