Capital Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 39.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,690 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 24,177 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $3,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 101.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its position in Target by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Target by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,106 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $97.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.08. The company has a market cap of $44.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.70.

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.