Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Buys 13,683 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 336,568 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,683 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Target were worth $35,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Neumann Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Target by 3.6% in the first quarter. Neumann Capital Management LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 1st quarter valued at $1,028,000. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its position in Target by 14.8% during the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 8,207 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,128 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 16.8% in the first quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,203 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,300,000 after buying an additional 5,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $4,328,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $98.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.25 and its 200-day moving average is $115.66.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. Target’s payout ratio is 49.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TGT. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Baird R W lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Target and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.70.

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.