Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Purchased by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 69,606 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,352 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $7,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Target by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Target by 13.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $182,882,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of TGT stock opened at $95.25 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.23. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $167.40. The company has a market capitalization of $43.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. 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 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). 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 last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on TGT. Wall Street Zen lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.