Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC cut its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,452 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 514 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $759,810,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $335,870,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $250,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 58.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Target by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after acquiring an additional 868,274 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.68.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $153.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,933,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,042,306. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.89. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $71.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The firm had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.