Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Kennebec Savings Bank

Kennebec Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,397 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Target by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 470,990 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Target by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $726,814,000 after purchasing an additional 754,883 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Gordon Haskett lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price objective on Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.70.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $97.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.12.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. Target’s payout ratio is 49.23%.

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.