National Bank of Canada FI Has $45.45 Million Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 65.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 317,606 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 607,325 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Target were worth $45,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $134,000. VeraBank N.A. bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth about $230,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 229.1% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,117 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 10,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 278.3% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 70,635 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,060,000 after acquiring an additional 51,961 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. 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 Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE TGT traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $157.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,177,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,664,412. 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 $72.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $166.46 and its 200-day moving average is $145.19. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

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.