ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New Investment in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has purchased 66,732 shares of Target Corporation, valued at approximately $6.96 million, during the 1st quarter.
• Target reported earnings per share of $1.30 for the last quarter, missing estimates of $1.65, with a revenue decrease of 2.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.2%, payable on September 1st.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 66,732 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $6,964,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Target by 86.4% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 159,587 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $16,655,000 after acquiring an additional 73,981 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its stake in Target by 42.5% during the 1st quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 3,057 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares during the period. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL lifted its stake in Target by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 3,680 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in Target by 134.5% during the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 11,141 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 6,391 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,406,653 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock traded down $0.22 on Friday, hitting $105.45. 3,493,433 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,928,076. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.30.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cfra Research cut shares of Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.65.

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.