Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases 22,537 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in Target Corporation by 195.6% in Q1, now holding shares worth $3.53 million after acquiring an additional 22,537 shares.
• Target reported a quarterly EPS of $1.30, missing analysts' expectations of $1.65, with revenue of $24.20 billion, down 2.8% year-over-year.
• Target announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, with a yield of 4.23%, payable to shareholders on September 1st.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 195.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,061 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 22,537 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Target were worth $3,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiducient Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the retailer's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 28,668 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,875,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Target by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the retailer's stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Target from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.65.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of TGT traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $101.62. 1,774,941 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,982,364. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $99.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.87. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $46.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 during 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%. The business'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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given 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 4.41%. Target's dividend payout ratio is 49.23%.

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.