MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Acquires 3,670 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,066 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,670 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's holdings in Target were worth $2,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Target by 101.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Target by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,386 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,984 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE TGT traded down $0.90 on Friday, reaching $93.97. The company had a trading volume of 7,867,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,034,261. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $42.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average is $96.26 and its 200-day moving average is $118.22. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm 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 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Target from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

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.