California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 25,086 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 854,843 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 25,086 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.19% of Target worth $121,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 82.8% in the third 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. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its stake in Target by 106.6% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Gordon Haskett lifted their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $166.51 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $76.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $164.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.30.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. 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 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.