Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Makes New Investment in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 7,316 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 200.8% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In other 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 sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $160.97 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.02 and a 200-day moving average of $144.21. The firm has a market cap of $74.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. 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 issued 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. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

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.