US Bancorp DE Sells 9,687 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

US Bancorp DE lowered its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,002,592 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 9,687 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned 0.43% of Target worth $285,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $759,810,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 15,009.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $250,244,000 after buying an additional 1,745,459 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 37,301.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $187,832,000 after buying an additional 1,694,222 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,900 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 51,357.7% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,204 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upped their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.41.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 value of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:TGT traded up $0.71 on Thursday, reaching $143.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,342,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,829,644. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $165.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.38. The firm has a market cap of $66.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.27%.

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.