14,231 Shares in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Bought by ABC Arbitrage SA

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA purchased 14,231 shares of Target Corporation worth approximately $1.485 million in the first quarter, as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Target's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.30, missing the forecast of $1.65, and revenue of $24.20 billion, down 2.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, yielding 4.5%, with a payout ratio of 49.23%.

ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,231 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,485,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its stake in Target by 47.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 951.4% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 389 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Loop Capital set a $95.00 price target on Target in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related 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 transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE TGT traded up $3.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.44. 6,303,788 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,874,617. The company has a market cap of $47.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $100.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Target Corporation has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year high of $167.40.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.23%.

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.