Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $497,000 Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,487 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Target by 200.8% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 361 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Target from $183.00 to $180.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target Stock Down 0.7 %

Target stock opened at $167.11 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $77.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.