Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $343.31 Million Stock Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its stake in Target Corporation by 1,364.3%, holding approximately 3.29 million shares valued at $343.31 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Target's earnings report showed a miss on earnings per share with $1.30 compared to analysts' expectations of $1.65, and a revenue decline of 2.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.23%, highlighting a payout ratio of 49.23%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 1,364.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,289,692 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,065,035 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.72% of Target worth $343,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Target by 12.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,864 shares of the retailer's stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at $21,551,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,273 shares of the retailer's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth about $2,051,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Target Stock Down 1.4%

Target stock opened at $105.96 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $99.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.82. The company has a market cap of $48.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.22. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.65.

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.

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