Northern Financial Advisors Inc Trims Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,248 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 693 shares during the quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Target were worth $463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Target by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its holdings in Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 7,715 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC raised its position in Target by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 7,059 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Target by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 494 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TGT. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $174.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Target 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

TGT traded up $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $160.83. 859,482 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,654,216. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $74.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.