Kanawha Capital Management LLC Sells 1,016 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,059 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,016 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $10,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 47.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target 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 value of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $103.86 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.19. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $87.35 and a fifty-two week high of $167.40. The company has a market capitalization of $47.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Cfra Research lowered shares of Target from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Target from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.70.

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.