Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 499.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,720 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 12,266 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Target were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT traded up $2.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $104.83. 5,102,332 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,272,568. Target Corporation has a 52-week low of $87.35 and a 52-week high of $167.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $97.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $47.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.