Ledyard National Bank Acquires 556 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ledyard National Bank increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,370 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $5,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,527,706 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,923,428,000 after acquiring an additional 702,565 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Target by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,146,067 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $569,001,000 after buying an additional 134,262 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Target by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,569,969 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $394,739,000 after buying an additional 287,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Target by 3.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $383,586,000 after buying an additional 127,491 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $163.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,737,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,683,991. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.87. The company has a market capitalization of $75.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TGT. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.