Financial Counselors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 136,528 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 6,770 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Target were worth $14,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth $757,892,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock worth $536,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,275 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $182,882,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Target by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 target price on Target and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.70.

Target Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $2.36 during trading on Monday, reaching $101.70. 5,675,117 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,258,998. The stock has a market cap of $46.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. 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 50-day moving average of $97.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.49. Target Corporation has a 52-week low of $87.35 and a 52-week high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 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 business had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's 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 owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.