17,677 Shares in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Purchased by Arjuna Capital

Arjuna Capital acquired a new position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,677 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,845,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 101.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 74.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,480 shares of the retailer's stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $925,000. PGGM Investments purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $335,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 310,984 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:TGT traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.26. 3,863,821 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,283,549. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.69 and a 200 day moving average of $110.63. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Target from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.70.

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.