Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $41.50 Million Stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 86.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 397,655 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,527,599 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Target worth $41,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $757,892,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,506,275 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $182,882,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price target on Target and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America downgraded Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cfra Research downgraded Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $4,328,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of Target stock traded up $4.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.18. 3,415,101 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,293,527. The company has a market cap of $48.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $98.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.31. 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 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $24.20 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.22%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.