White Pine Capital LLC Sells 694 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

White Pine Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,889 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 694 shares during the period. Target makes up about 1.1% of White Pine Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $2,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of 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 period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of 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 period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at $87,075,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE TGT traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $164.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,085,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,821,609. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $165.52 and its 200-day moving average is $143.02. The stock has a market cap of $76.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Target 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.