Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 2,850 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 21.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,201 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Target were worth $1,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

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

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $98.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,931,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,085,364. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $95.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.66. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $44.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. Target's payout ratio is 49.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Target and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.70.

About Target

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.