Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 401,830 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 38,045 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Target worth $41,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in Target by 951.4% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 389 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $104.29 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.66 and a 200-day moving average of $105.38. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The company has a market capitalization of $47.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital set a $95.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.81.

Target 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.