Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lessened its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 75.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 206 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 638 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Target Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE TGT traded up $1.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $165.73. The company had a trading volume of 982,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,982. The stock has a market cap of $76.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $165.21 and its 200 day moving average is $142.61. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target 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 completion of the sale, the insider now 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.