Ledyard National Bank Has $3.09 Million Stock Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Ledyard National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,558 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,220 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank's holdings in Target were worth $3,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Target by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 13.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 470,990 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer's stock worth $726,814,000 after buying an additional 754,883 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 target price on shares of Target and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One 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 has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.70.

Target Stock Down 0.8%

TGT stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $96.71. 4,368,146 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,193,431. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $95.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.44. The firm has a market cap of $43.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. Target's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $4,328,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Company 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.