Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Holdings Lowered by Nuance Investments LLC

Key Points

• Nuance Investments LLC has significantly decreased its stake in Target Corporation by selling 53,004 shares, reducing its ownership by 47.8%. After the sale, the firm holds 57,886 shares worth approximately $6,041,000.
• Insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target, reflecting a 15.44% decrease in his ownership, while the company continues to experience shifts in institutional investment.
• Target's recent earnings report revealed a miss on estimates with an EPS of $1.30 compared to the expected $1.65, alongside a quarterly revenue decline of 2.8% year-over-year.

Nuance Investments LLC cut its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 47.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,886 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 53,004 shares during the quarter. Nuance Investments LLC's holdings in Target were worth $6,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Target by 8.2% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 62,273 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 4,745 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter worth about $421,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 203.1% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 11,319 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 7,584 shares during the period. Ballast Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 3.6% during the first quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 13,412 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Target by 4.1% during the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 32,718 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $95.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America lowered shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Target from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.81.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.22. 7,358,484 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,002,377. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $101.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.64. The firm has a market cap of $47.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.22. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $87.35 and a fifty-two week high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (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 net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. 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.