Choreo LLC Has $2.21 Million Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 144.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,487 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,147 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $2,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,694,222 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Target by 56.3% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $313,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the third quarter worth about $87,075,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TGT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TheStreet raised Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of TGT opened at $163.73 on Tuesday. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.87.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Target’s dividend 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.