Banco Santander S.A. Boosts Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 239.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,785 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,199 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Target by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after acquiring an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Target by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $518,089,000 after acquiring an additional 234,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Target by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $517,620,000 after acquiring an additional 62,916 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. KGI Securities raised Target to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Target Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $115.11 on Monday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $112.10 and a 52-week high of $181.86. 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 has a market capitalization of $52.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.37.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. On average, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Target 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.