Argent Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Argent Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,083 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,702 shares during the quarter. Argent Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Target were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock opened at $99.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.49. Target Corporation has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year high of $167.40. 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 (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.70.

Target Company 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.

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