BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Increases Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Asset Management significantly increased its stake in Target Corporation by 86.3% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.09% of the company, valued at about $41 million.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their holdings in Target, with First Trust Advisors LP leading the way by increasing their stake by 421.2%.
• Target announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12, representing an annual yield of 4.3%, with a payout ratio of roughly 50.11%.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 86.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 394,112 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 182,512 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.09% of Target worth $41,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Target by 101.3% in the 4th 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. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Target by 151.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 67,216 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,086,000 after purchasing an additional 40,519 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 6,422 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Target by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,939 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Target by 421.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 621,051 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $83,954,000 after buying an additional 501,898 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

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 transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $102.99 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $46.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $101.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.62. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $167.40.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 50.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on TGT. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Target from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Target from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.42.

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.

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