Ballast Inc. Purchases 85 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ballast Inc. boosted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,988 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 3,577.5% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,471 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 3.3% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 131.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 702 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Ergoteles LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 191.5% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 11,794 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 7,748 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $177.12 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $153.95 and its 200 day moving average is $134.65. 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 $81.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $177.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Target from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America increased their target price 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. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.73.

Target Company 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.