North Star Investment Management Corp. Acquires 347 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT – Get Rating) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,455 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 347 shares during the quarter. Target comprises 0.7% of North Star Investment Management Corp.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Target were worth $8,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 71,890 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,714,000 after buying an additional 8,832 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 9,537 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 5,517 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Platform Technology Partners lifted its stake in shares of Target by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 4,418 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 78.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.98, for a total transaction of $5,564,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 191,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,408,422.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $159.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Target Co. has a one year low of $137.16 and a one year high of $254.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.27 and a 200 day moving average of $160.73.

Target (NYSE:TGT – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The retailer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.49. Target had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 2.55%. The company had revenue of $31.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.35 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 72.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. Gordon Haskett cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $132.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Cowen lowered their target price on Target from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Barclays began coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $163.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.69.

Target Company Profile

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Target Corp. engages in the operation and ownership of general merchandise stores. It offers food assortments including perishables, dry grocery, dairy, and frozen items. The company was founded by George Draper Dayton in 1902 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.