Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,163 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Target were worth $7,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its stake in Target by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of TGT opened at $168.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $77.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.43. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results 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. The business 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%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.