Lyell Wealth Management LP Lowers Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Lyell Wealth Management LP decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 36,667 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,119 shares during the quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Target were worth $5,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after buying an additional 1,745,459 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 37,301.2% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $187,832,000 after buying an additional 1,694,222 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after buying an additional 1,415,900 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 56.3% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $313,925,000 after buying an additional 1,022,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth about $87,075,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.7 %

TGT stock traded down $1.14 on Wednesday, hitting $165.37. 2,630,551 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,722,639. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $164.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $31.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on TGT. HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

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.