Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Lowers Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lessened its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,623 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 464 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Target by 95,980.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,537,742 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,762,865,000 after acquiring an additional 18,518,448 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $725,870,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $250,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,459 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Target by 37,301.2% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $187,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Target by 252.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,166,161 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $358,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551,551 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $166.12 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.41. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $76.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. 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. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett raised their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.04.

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.