Smead Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Smead Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,096,533 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 154,671 shares during the period. Target accounts for 2.8% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $156,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $1,452,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 138,793 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,767,000 after purchasing an additional 38,318 shares in the last quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Target by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,138 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 45,402 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,466,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Bank of America 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet raised shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target Stock Up 1.2 %

Target stock traded up $2.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $166.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,763,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,768,075. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.34. 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 market cap of $76.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid 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 2.64%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale 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 business’s 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 sale, 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 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Target

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.