Armistice Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Armistice Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 96.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,397 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 113,828 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,130 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in Target by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 7,715 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Target by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 7,059 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Target by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Target in a report on Monday. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 target price for the company. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.11.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock traded down $2.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.17. 1,733,783 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,875,173. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

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). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,038,481.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total value of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.05, for a total value of $495,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,038,481.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,600 shares of company stock valued at $8,819,598. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.