Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 2,738 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Madison Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 21.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,212 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,738 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Target were worth $1,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $757,892,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after buying an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $182,882,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Target by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after buying an additional 1,306,552 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target 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 transaction of $4,328,100.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE TGT traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $106.03. 3,468,072 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,096,651. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.59. 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 company has a market capitalization of $48.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The business had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's payout ratio is 49.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 target price on Target and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Target from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.65.

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.