Cerity Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,537 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,394 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Target were worth $14,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholas Company Inc. grew its position in Target by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,544,000 after acquiring an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Target by 16.1% in the first quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 156,644 shares of the retailer's stock worth $16,347,000 after acquiring an additional 21,726 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC lifted its position in Target by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,940,000 after buying an additional 3,231 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $6,459,000. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 20.0% during the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,262,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Cfra Research lowered Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Target and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.00.

Target Trading Up 2.4%

TGT stock traded up $2.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $103.75. 4,525,798 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,289,448. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $98.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.22. Target Corporation has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's payout ratio is 49.23%.

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.