Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $22.89 Million Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,734 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,408 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Target were worth $22,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 82.8% in the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 200.8% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TGT. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $167.11 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, 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 transaction of $786,048.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.