SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Cuts Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,157 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $97.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.07 and a 200 day moving average of $115.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. Target’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on Target from $92.00 to $88.00 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 research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 target price on shares of Target and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.70.

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.