TCW Group Inc. Makes New $1.79 Million Investment in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

TCW Group Inc. acquired a new position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,589 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,794,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $864,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 88,256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,569,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Allstate Corp bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,240,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $0.82 on Friday, hitting $145.23. 3,550,295 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,405,073. The company has a market cap of $67.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.85. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on TGT. Gordon Haskett lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. TheStreet raised shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.41.

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.