Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Purchased by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,677 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its position in Target by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $95.25 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $87.35 and a fifty-two week high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cfra Research downgraded Target from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 price target on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.