Welch Group LLC Grows Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,887 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Target were worth $5,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its position in Target by 6.3% in the fourth 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 raised its position in Target by 13.6% in the fourth 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 raised its position in Target by 5.0% in the fourth 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 bought a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Target by 16.3% in the fourth 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. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Target stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.97. The company had a trading volume of 7,867,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,034,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.26 and a 200 day moving average of $117.97. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $87.35 and a 52-week high of $167.40.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price objective on Target and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.68.

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.