TRUE Private Wealth Advisors Decreases Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

TRUE Private Wealth Advisors trimmed its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 22.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,373 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 402 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Target were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $759,810,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Target during the 1st quarter worth about $335,870,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 15,009.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after buying an additional 1,745,459 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 51,357.7% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,683,228 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $382,145,000 after acquiring an additional 984,464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Target stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $135.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,099,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,874,455. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Target from $170.00 to $147.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.75.

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.