Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,529 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,229 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,529 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Target were worth $17,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Target by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC raised its holdings in Target by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 342 shares of the retailer's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT traded up $2.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $104.83. The company had a trading volume of 5,102,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,272,568. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $97.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.16. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's payout ratio is 50.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Target and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.70.

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.