31,055 Shares in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Acquired by Zions Bancorporation National Association UT

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Target Corporation, purchasing 31,055 shares valued at approximately $3.24 million.
• Analyst ratings for Target have shifted, with Bank of America downgrading the stock from "buy" to "neutral" and lowering its target price from $145 to $105.
• Target recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 13th.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 31,055 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,241,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiducient Advisors LLC increased its stake in Target by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the retailer's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 28,668 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,875,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the retailer's stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Target from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Mizuho cut their price target on Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.65.

Target Stock Down 1.3%

Target stock traded down $1.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $104.06. 5,018,628 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,909,514. The business's 50 day moving average is $100.79 and its 200 day moving average is $105.88. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40. The company has a market capitalization of $47.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 posted $2.03 EPS. Analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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