HBW Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,914 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,883 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Target were worth $2,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Nicholas Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,544,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 144.9% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $31,699,000 after buying an additional 138,751 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,459,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Target by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,940,000 after buying an additional 3,231 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Target by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Trading Down 0.5%

Target stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $93.49. The company had a trading volume of 4,678,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,035,635. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $167.40. The firm has a market cap of $42.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.00.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Target's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Target's payout ratio is 49.23%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W lowered shares of Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on Target in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Roth Mkm reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $122.00 target price (down from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.70.

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.