Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 394 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,320 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TGT. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Target from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $97.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.70.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $95.79 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.16. The stock has a market cap of $43.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Target’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target 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 value of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.