Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC Increases Stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,192 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares during the quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Target were worth $3,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Opinicus Capital Inc. lifted its position in Target by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 10,253 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 10.4% during the first quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 21,996 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 10,167 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 155,488 shares of the retailer's stock worth $16,227,000 after buying an additional 31,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam increased its position in Target by 779.3% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 6,762 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 5,993 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded down $2.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $95.18. 7,187,400 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,144,167. 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 $43.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.22. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.64.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released 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). Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on TGT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. Bank of America cut shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.70.

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.