Target (NYSE:TGT) Shares Up 1.1% - What's Next?

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $99.21 and last traded at $98.71. Approximately 1,264,264 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 6,197,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Target from $155.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.70.

Target Stock Up 2.2%

The stock has a market cap of $45.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $96.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.23%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other 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 value of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Target

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nicholas Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,544,000 after buying an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 144.9% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer's stock worth $31,699,000 after buying an additional 138,751 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,459,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Target by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,940,000 after buying an additional 3,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC raised its position in Target by 20.0% in the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,262,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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