Rakuten Securities Inc. Invests $29,000 in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 204 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $166.58 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $163.25 and its 200-day moving average is $140.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.27%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

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.