144,157 Shares in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired 144,157 shares of Target Corporation, valued at approximately $15,044,000, in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of Target's stock, indicating significant institutional interest.
• Target's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $1.30, missing analyst estimates and marking a 2.8% revenue decline compared to the previous year.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 144,157 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $15,044,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Target by 407.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,666,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,825,586 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 1,364.3% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,289,692 shares of the retailer's stock worth $343,312,000 after buying an additional 3,065,035 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock worth $536,407,000 after buying an additional 1,506,275 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $560,420,000 after buying an additional 1,406,653 shares during the period. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $182,882,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE TGT traded down $1.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $105.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,358,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,002,377. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.64. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $47.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TGT. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America downgraded Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Target from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.