Cwm LLC Increases Stock Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,690 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 7,360 shares during the period. CWM LLC's holdings in Target were worth $6,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $757,892,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock worth $536,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,275 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 13.6% in the fourth 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 bought a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $182,882,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $4,328,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Target in a report on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock traded down $0.60 on Friday, reaching $103.05. The stock had a trading volume of 946,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,268,729. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The company has a market cap of $46.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.22. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $98.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Target had a return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio 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.