Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,273 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC raised its stake in Target by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. Loop Capital set a $95.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.65.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $106.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 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 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $99.22 and a 200-day moving average of $108.59. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released 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 business had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.23%.

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.