RNC Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

RNC Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,288 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,582 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,923,428,000 after acquiring an additional 702,565 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Target by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,570,634 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,725,904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,881 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 95,980.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,537,742 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,762,865,000 after purchasing an additional 18,518,448 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,300,283 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,371,516,000 after purchasing an additional 80,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $174.67 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $80.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.13. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $175.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.36.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TGT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $174.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Target from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.73.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.