Palouse Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,653 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,418 shares during the quarter. Target accounts for about 2.5% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $3,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 82.8% in the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $168.30. 3,284,403 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,781,228. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $77.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $163.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,658.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Target from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

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.