Aviance Capital Partners LLC Acquires 8,306 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 239.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,775 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 8,306 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Target were worth $1,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 101.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,268 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $297,122,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 5,001 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded down $1.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $104.17. The company had a trading volume of 3,535,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,250,547. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $96.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.94. 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 issued 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). The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Mizuho cut their price target on Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 target price on Target in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating 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, Target currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.