EdgeRock Capital LLC Invests $72,000 in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 493 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Services Automobile Association boosted its stake in Target by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 44,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,891,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $605,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 82.8% in the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Target by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 519,634 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $73,819,000 after acquiring an additional 24,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC increased its holdings in Target by 109.9% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 27,267 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after purchasing an additional 14,274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $0.82 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $159.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,574,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,675,110. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.