Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Decreases Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 168,600 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,900 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Target were worth $17,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Target by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,603,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Fiducient Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the retailer's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 3,609 shares of the retailer's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 28,668 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock traded up $2.00 during trading on Monday, hitting $97.37. The stock had a trading volume of 7,415,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,135,360. The company's 50 day moving average price is $95.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.02. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $44.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.11%.

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.