Mutual Advisors LLC Buys 15,294 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 48.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,686 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 15,294 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings in Target were worth $4,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 101.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,268 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Target by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,480 shares of the retailer's stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth $297,122,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 5,001 shares of the retailer's stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 target price on Target and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment 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 MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 sale, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Down 1.2%

TGT stock traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $104.17. 3,535,290 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,250,547. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $96.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.94. The firm has a market cap of $47.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. 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.