Wesbanco Bank Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,806 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $97.36 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.89. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $44.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TGT. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.