Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,769 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 148.6% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. TheStreet raised shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.41.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock traded up $1.14 on Thursday, hitting $144.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,659,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,853,752. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $165.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.35. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $66.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.16. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total transaction of $495,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.