Xcel Wealth Management LLC Sells 8,165 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 76.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,470 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 8,165 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Target were worth $258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Target by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer's stock worth $726,814,000 after purchasing an additional 754,883 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Cfra Research lowered shares of Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.70.

Target Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Target stock opened at $105.37 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.14. 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 current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Target's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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