Procyon Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Procyon Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 56.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,832 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,273 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its stake in Target by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 19,697 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the period. High Note Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 raised its stake in Target by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 6,287 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Target by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,014 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Finally, Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on TGT. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.73.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $175.05. 415,740 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,893,308. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $176.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.36. The company has a market cap of $80.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.13.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.27%.

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.