Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Has $6.89 Million Stock Position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the quarter. Target comprises approximately 1.6% of Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Target were worth $6,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Target by 6.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 407.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,666,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,825,586 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 754,883 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 35.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $560,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,653 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Target by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,823,264 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $652,014,000 after acquiring an additional 840,484 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $105.22 on Thursday. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $167.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued 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 return on equity of 25.59% and a net margin of 3.95%. The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Target’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Target from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Cfra Research cut Target from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.