Stephens Inc. AR Grows Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 26.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 74,062 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 15,337 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Target were worth $7,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $757,892,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $536,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,882,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in Target by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.70.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT traded up $0.73 during trading on Monday, hitting $104.97. 4,466,358 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,221,517. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $167.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.45. The company has a market capitalization of $47.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The business had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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