Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Lowers Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. trimmed its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Target by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Target by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after acquiring an additional 470,990 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Target by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $726,814,000 after acquiring an additional 754,883 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT traded down $2.36 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $101.70. 5,675,117 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,259,004. 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 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The company has a market cap of $46.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.49.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Baird R W cut shares of Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.70.

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.