Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases Shares of 39,804 Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 39,804 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,154,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in Target by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised 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 buying an additional 754,883 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $97.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.60%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital set a $122.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.70.

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.