Affiance Financial LLC Trims Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Affiance Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,219 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 267 shares during the quarter. Affiance Financial LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in Target by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Target by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Target by 5.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Target by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $726,814,000 after acquiring an additional 754,883 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 246,453 shares in the company, 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 at this link. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $93.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.00 and a 200 day moving average of $117.31. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $87.35 and a 12 month high of $167.40. The firm has a market cap of $42.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly 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). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. 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 company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Target’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler set a $94.00 price objective on Target and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Target in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.