Palouse Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,999 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Target accounts for 2.4% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its position in Target by 0.4% in the second quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 80,194 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,872,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,153,982 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $170,552,000 after buying an additional 5,034 shares during the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 8,331 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Target by 2.4% during the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 43,199 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,395,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its holdings in Target by 22.5% during the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 7,551 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,118,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $7,140,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,210,768.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 1,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.13, for a total value of $153,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,173.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Target from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Target from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.68.

Target Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $153.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $148.34 and its 200 day moving average is $155.03. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

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.