Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,650 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TGT. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 1,592.0% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 8,494 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 7,992 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Target by 14.9% in the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,108 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in Target by 2.7% in the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 9,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Target in the third quarter valued at $136,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Target by 23.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 350,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,705,000 after purchasing an additional 66,519 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $144.09. 2,746,413 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,810,486. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $66.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.38.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on TGT shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.77.

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.