5,892 Shares in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Purchased by Twin Capital Management Inc.

Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,892 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $615,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Target by 233.6% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 15,686 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,637,000 after acquiring an additional 10,984 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 179.9% in the first quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the retailer's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its position in Target by 50.7% in the first quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 5,786 shares of the retailer's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in Target by 50.5% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 251,209 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,216,000 after acquiring an additional 84,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the first quarter worth about $944,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This 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. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Target and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $115.65.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock traded down $1.52 on Thursday, reaching $105.91. 1,597,859 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,071,953. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.89 and a 200-day moving average of $109.05. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $167.40. The firm has a market cap of $48.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Target's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.