Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Motco

Key Points

• Motco reduced its holdings in Target Corporation by 10.8%, selling 3,003 shares, leaving them with 24,824 shares valued at approximately $2.59 million.
• Target reported earnings of $1.30 per share, falling short of analyst expectations of $1.65, while revenue also declined by 2.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $1.12 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 1st, reflecting a 4.23% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 50.11%.

Motco lowered its stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,824 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,003 shares during the quarter. Motco's holdings in Target were worth $2,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 101.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $337,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 4,417 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Target by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 803,754 shares of the retailer's stock worth $109,142,000 after purchasing an additional 82,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,889,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TGT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.65.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business'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 owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of TGT traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $104.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,392,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,997,678. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $167.40. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $47.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.91.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.