Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Has $1.41 Million Stock Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. decreased its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 36.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,507 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,752 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.'s holdings in Target were worth $1,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Target by 101.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,480 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its position in Target by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 8,176 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth $1,177,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth $1,289,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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 note on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America downgraded Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective 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. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.70.

Target Trading Down 2.8%

TGT traded down $2.86 during trading on Monday, reaching $101.20. 1,927,762 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,244,884. The company's fifty day moving average price is $97.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $87.35 and a fifty-two week high of $167.40. 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 (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 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.43%. Target's dividend payout ratio is 49.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.