Monte Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT – Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,353 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,917 shares during the period. Target makes up about 2.5% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Plancorp LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,520 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 2,263 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank grew its stake in shares of Target by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 10,082 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 695 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,571 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.75, for a total transaction of $234,534.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,491. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have weighed in on TGT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Target from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $182.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. TheStreet cut shares of Target from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $177.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, June 9th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.10.
Target Trading Up 0.7 %
Shares of Target stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $130.97. 1,694,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,236,672. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $140.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.93. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $125.08 and a 1-year high of $183.89.
Target (NYSE:TGT – Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 17th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $24.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.28 billion. Target had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 24.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Target Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 15th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 73.59%.
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.