Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,120 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,832 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Target were worth $14,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholas Company Inc. lifted its position in Target by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,544,000 after acquiring an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 144.9% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,699,000 after acquiring an additional 138,751 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,459,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC lifted its position in Target by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 3,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 20.0% in the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,262,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of Target 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 sale, the insider now owns 246,453 shares in the company, valued at $23,703,849.54. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Target from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.70.

Target Stock Down 2.7%

TGT stock opened at $98.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $44.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.25 and its 200 day moving average is $115.66. Target Co. has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

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.