Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $725,000 Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,089 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Target by 3,577.5% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in Target by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Target by 131.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 702 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Ergoteles LLC raised its holdings in Target by 191.5% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 11,794 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 7,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $7,538,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $167.29. The company had a trading volume of 708,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,745,453. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $163.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $77.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued 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 net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on TGT. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

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.