Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 370,967 Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 7.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,194,231 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 370,967 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Target were worth $542,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Target by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,964,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 407.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,666,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,825,586 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Target by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $726,814,000 after purchasing an additional 754,883 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $560,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Loop Capital set a $95.00 price target on Target in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $100.00 target price on Target in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on Target from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Target from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.81.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $104.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $101.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced 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 company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. Target’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.11%.

Target 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.