Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,805 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 95,980.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,537,742 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,762,865,000 after purchasing an additional 18,518,448 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $725,870,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $250,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted 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 during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Target by 252.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,166,161 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $358,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551,551 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $164.47 on Thursday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $75.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $162.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.34.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the insider now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Gordon Haskett increased their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from 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.