Sapient Capital LLC Sells 243 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,424 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $536,407,000 after buying an additional 1,506,275 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after buying an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $182,882,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $95.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $87.35 and a 52-week high of $167.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $95.48 and its 200 day moving average is $115.23.

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). The company had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. 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 4.70%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cfra Research lowered Target from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Baird R W downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.