Nuveen LLC Takes $186.36 Million Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 1,785,750 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $186,361,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC increased its holdings in Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 28,668 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,875,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Target by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management increased its holdings in Target by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 13,278 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,795,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,803 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:TGT opened at $104.06 on Tuesday. Target Corporation has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year high of $167.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.64.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 25.59%. The business had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Target from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $97.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. 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 report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Target and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.65.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were 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 owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,703,849.54. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.