Commerce Bank Sells 3,967 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Commerce Bank decreased its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,472 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,967 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $8,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 1,364.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,289,692 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,312,000 after buying an additional 3,065,035 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Target by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Target by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth $182,882,000. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in Target by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,964,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $99.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.17. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share 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 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. Target’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.65.

Insider Activity at Target

In other 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.