Value Partners Investments Inc. Takes Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Value Partners Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 37,000 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,866,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Target by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Target and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.70.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider now owns 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Down 0.8%

TGT opened at $96.71 on Thursday. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $87.35 and a fifty-two week high of $167.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. 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.

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