Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Takes $240,000 Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 1,688 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in Target by 150.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 213 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Kenfarb & CO. raised its holdings in Target by 81.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kenfarb & CO. now owns 290 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. 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 research report on Wednesday, March 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.73.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $177.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $81.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.13. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.65. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $177.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion during 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 revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

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.