Machina Capital S.A.S. Makes New Investment in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 19,650 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,051,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Burney Co. grew its position in Target by 555.8% during the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 55,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,760,000 after purchasing an additional 46,774 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 361.1% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,900 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 8,536 shares in the last quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at about $989,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the first quarter valued at about $1,303,000. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 50.4% in the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 35,698 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,725,000 after acquiring an additional 11,962 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Trading Up 0.2%

TGT traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $106.03. 3,468,072 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,096,651. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.59. The firm has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. Target's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Cfra Research cut shares of Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America cut shares of 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. Finally, Loop Capital set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.65.

About Target

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.