Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Heritage Trust Co

Key Points

• Heritage Trust Co has reduced its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 12.9%, selling 3,626 shares and now owns 24,557 shares worth approximately $2,563,000.
• Insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock, resulting in a 15.44% decrease in his position, valued at around $23.7 million after the sale.
• Recent analyst ratings for Target have been mostly negative, with Barclays maintaining an "underweight" rating and a target price of $91, while several other firms have similarly lowered price objectives.

Heritage Trust Co lowered its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 12.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,557 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,626 shares during the quarter. Heritage Trust Co's holdings in Target were worth $2,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 1,364.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,289,692 shares of the retailer's stock worth $343,312,000 after buying an additional 3,065,035 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $536,407,000 after buying an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Target by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth $182,882,000. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in Target by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 target price on Target in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.65.

Insider Activity

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 owned 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Target Stock Performance

TGT traded up $2.03 on Tuesday, reaching $101.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,572,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,952,507. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $167.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business's 50-day moving average price is $100.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.75. The company has a market cap of $46.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.

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.