Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Grows Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Key Points

• Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its stake in Target Corporation by 20% in the first quarter, now holding approximately $6.89 million worth of shares.
• Target's recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.30, missing the consensus estimate by $0.35, while revenue dipped 2.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.3%, and the ex-dividend date set for August 13th.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,000 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Target comprises approximately 1.6% of Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings in Target were worth $6,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its position in Target by 951.4% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 389 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Target in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Target from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $115.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of TGT traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.99. 6,291,910 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,200,333. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.87. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40. The company has a market cap of $46.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Target's payout ratio is currently 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.