Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,452 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Target were worth $1,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Target by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Target by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,332,317,000 after acquiring an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Target by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $726,814,000 after acquiring an additional 754,883 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:TGT opened at $99.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.81. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40. The company has a market cap of $45.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.22.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released 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). Target had a return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. 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 prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Target from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Baird R W lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.70.

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 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 represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.