Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 33.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,232 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 38,363 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $8,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TGT. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. Bank of America downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Target and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Target from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.65.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $105.44 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $47.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.22. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were 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 represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company 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.