Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Exeter Financial LLC

Exeter Financial LLC lifted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,368 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,177 shares during the quarter. Target comprises 1.6% of Exeter Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Exeter Financial LLC's holdings in Target were worth $3,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 101.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its position in Target by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Target by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,386 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,984 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.68.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $4,328,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Target stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.97. 7,867,613 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,034,261. The firm has a market cap of $42.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $96.26 and its 200 day moving average is $118.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Target's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Target's payout ratio is 49.23%.

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.