Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 158.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,895 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 10,350 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Target were worth $1,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $757,892,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $182,882,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Target by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America lowered Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 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. Baird R W downgraded Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.65.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $106.03. The stock had a trading volume of 3,468,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,096,651. The company has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $99.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $87.35 and a fifty-two week high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. Target's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

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.