Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Lowers Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. decreased its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,032 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 6,666 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Target were worth $10,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Target by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Fiducient Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC increased its holdings in Target by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 3,609 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC raised its stake in Target by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 28,668 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,875,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price objective on Target in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cfra Research downgraded Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 246,453 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $95.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.26. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $43.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

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.

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