Blue Trust Inc. Grows Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,984 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 9,940.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after buying an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in Target by 173.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Target by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in Target by 773.1% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,795,000 after acquiring an additional 737,384 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of TGT opened at $140.37 on Friday. Target Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $134.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.61. 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 company has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.70.

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.