Grimes & Company Inc. Lowers Holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Grimes & Company Inc. reduced its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,175 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,037 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its stake in Target by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,544,000 after acquiring an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 144.9% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,699,000 after purchasing an additional 138,751 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,459,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its stake in Target by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 20.0% in the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,262,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $95.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.61 and a 200 day moving average of $114.64. The company has a market cap of $43.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its 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 return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.12 per share. 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 4.71%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Cfra Research lowered Target from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.