Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 126,934 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 23,237 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $18,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 95,980.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,537,742 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,762,865,000 after acquiring an additional 18,518,448 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $725,870,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,459 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 37,301.2% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $187,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Target by 252.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,166,161 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $358,782,000 after buying an additional 1,551,551 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Target

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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on TGT. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.04.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $166.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.41. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Target Company 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.