Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 1,806 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 108,044 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,806 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $15,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Target by 3,577.5% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Target by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Target by 131.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 702 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Ergoteles LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 191.5% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 11,794 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,503,000 after acquiring an additional 7,748 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on TGT shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $125.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $167.18. 561,092 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,743,652. The company has a market capitalization of $77.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 346,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total value of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Target 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.