Simmons Bank Sells 274 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Simmons Bank cut its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,059 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 15,009.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $250,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 37,301.2% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $187,832,000 after buying an additional 1,694,222 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after buying an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 51,357.7% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,834,000 after buying an additional 1,218,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $313,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $160.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,387,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,660,333. The company has a market capitalization of $74.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.90. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.27%.

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.