Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 1,480,548 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 97.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,534 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,480,548 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Target were worth $4,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares during the period. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $182,882,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on TGT. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Target from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.68.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.97. 7,867,613 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,034,261. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50-day moving average price is $96.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released 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). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.23%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 now directly owns 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.