DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Reduces Holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 231,620 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 61,074 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.05% of Target worth $23,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 19.7% in the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,292 shares during the period. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter worth about $1,262,000. Bank Hapoalim BM raised its position in shares of Target by 48.1% in the first quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 2,755 shares of the retailer's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 8.0% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 80,418 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,392,000 after acquiring an additional 5,941 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Down 0.5%

Target stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.26. 3,863,821 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,283,549. The company has a market cap of $47.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $167.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.69 and a 200-day moving average of $110.45.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released 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). Target had a return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The business had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Target's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho cut their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Cfra Research cut shares of Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.70.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.