Sabal Trust CO Purchases 1,972 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Sabal Trust CO increased its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 28.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,016 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,972 shares during the period. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in Target were worth $941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 0.8%

Target stock opened at $96.71 on Thursday. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The company has a market capitalization of $43.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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 analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on TGT. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price target on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.70.

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.