Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,807 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Target were worth $5,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 lifted its stake in shares of Target by 37,301.2% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $187,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,222 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 26.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 51,357.7% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 56.3% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $313,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

TGT traded up $0.36 during trading on Monday, reaching $158.40. The stock had a trading volume of 3,314,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,689,031. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.54.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on TGT. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.