Janney Capital Management LLC Has $14.12 Million Stock Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Janney Capital Management LLC raised its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 29.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,301 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 30,977 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC's holdings in Target were worth $14,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock worth $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $182,882,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Target from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.70.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $95.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,617,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,185,887. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.26. The company has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.23%.

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.