Hennessy Advisors Inc. Makes New $2.15 Million Investment in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 20,600 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,150,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Nicholas Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,544,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 144.9% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer's stock worth $31,699,000 after purchasing an additional 138,751 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $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 valued at $1,940,000 after buying an additional 3,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 20.0% during the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,262,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on TGT. Baird R W lowered Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays began coverage on Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.70.

Target Trading Down 4.1%

TGT opened at $95.25 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $95.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.02. The company has a market capitalization of $43.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week 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 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company'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 business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.11%.

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.

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