Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Purchases New Shares in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Target Corporation, purchasing 15,257 shares valued at about $1.59 million during the first quarter.
• Target Corporation recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.30 per share, missing estimates and showing a 2.8% revenue decline year-over-year.
• Target announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.2%, expected to be paid on September 1st.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,257 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,592,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its stake in Target by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Target and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.26.

Target Stock Performance

TGT traded up $2.78 on Tuesday, reaching $106.79. 3,137,668 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,893,377. The company's 50-day moving average price is $101.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.64. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $87.35 and a fifty-two week high of $167.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The firm 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 firm posted $2.03 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.