Edmp Inc. Acquires 559 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Edmp Inc. increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 41.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,916 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Edmp Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after buying an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 1.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after buying an additional 62,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $475,914,000 after buying an additional 56,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $131.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $60.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $135.22 and a 200 day moving average of $143.78. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

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.