Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires 22,398 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 39.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,370 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 22,398 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Target were worth $8,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Target by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $726,814,000 after purchasing an additional 754,883 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on TGT. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Target from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.00.

Target Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:TGT traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.40. 5,279,746 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,147,953. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $46.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.90. Target Corporation has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year 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). Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.