Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,209,048 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 63,634 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Target worth $126,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,532,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $182,882,000. Hedge funds and other 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 company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.70.

Target Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of TGT stock traded down $1.29 on Thursday, hitting $104.17. The stock had a trading volume of 3,535,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,232,152. Target Corporation has a 52-week low of $87.35 and a 52-week high of $167.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50 day moving average is $96.72 and its 200-day moving average is $112.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). Target had a return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The business had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.

Target 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.