iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,345 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 11,345 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Target were worth $15,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 1,364.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,289,692 shares of the retailer's stock worth $343,312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065,035 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 61.2% in 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 during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in 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. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $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 valued at $2,964,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.65.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on TGT
Target Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE TGT traded up $3.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $105.44. 6,303,788 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,874,617. The company's 50-day moving average price is $100.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.72. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 2.93 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 (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Target Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were 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 directly owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Target Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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