6,530 Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Bought by Aviso Financial Inc.

Aviso Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,530 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $883,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Target by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 241,447 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,632,000 after buying an additional 19,095 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,345 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,206,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 19,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,042,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Target by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,710 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,981,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Daiwa America downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price objective on Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $104.71 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $103.46 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The company 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

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.