Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 48,195 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 510 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $6,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $410,000. Sheets Smith Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Target by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,295 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,021,000 after buying an additional 4,090 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, River Global Investors LLP raised its stake in shares of Target by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 19,683 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock traded up $0.31 on Monday, hitting $158.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,418,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,679,486. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. 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 $73.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 note on Wednesday, March 6th. Gordon Haskett upped their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Target from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

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.