Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by NavPoint Financial Inc.

NavPoint Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,390 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the quarter. Target comprises 1.1% of NavPoint Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. NavPoint Financial Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its position in Target by 20.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in Target by 144.9% during the fourth 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 period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,459,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its position 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 period. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC increased its position in Target by 20.0% during the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,262,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Target from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $97.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.70.

Target Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $97.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $87.35 and a 52-week high of $167.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.12. The company has a market capitalization of $44.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.60%. 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.