Viking Fund Management LLC Has $6.26 Million Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Viking Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,000 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in Target were worth $6,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position 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 worth $536,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,275 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $182,882,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of TGT stock traded up $3.81 on Friday, hitting $97.33. 7,816,651 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,049,587. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.24 and a 200 day moving average of $116.16. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $87.35 and a fifty-two week high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.60%. Target's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Cfra Research cut Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Target from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.70.

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.