Aigen Investment Management LP Increases Stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in Target Corporation by 399.7%, owning 28,479 shares valued at $2.97 million as per its latest SEC filing.
• Target announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.2%.
• Several analysts have downgraded Target's stock, with Cfra Research changing its rating from "moderate buy" to "hold" and price targets reducing significantly.

Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 399.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,479 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 22,780 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Target were worth $2,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Target by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 407.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,666,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,825,586 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Target by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $726,814,000 after purchasing an additional 754,883 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $560,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Target by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,823,264 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $652,014,000 after purchasing an additional 840,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.22. The company had a trading volume of 7,358,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,919,711. The firm has a market cap of $47.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 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 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $101.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.64.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Target's payout ratio is 49.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Truist Financial set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Target and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.81.

Target Profile

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.