73,205 Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Purchased by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 73,205 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $9,896,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the third quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Adero Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 8.2% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 85.5% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Target by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Target by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,373,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $214,027,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $105.61 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $128.68 and its 200 day moving average is $139.29. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $103.46 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS 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 net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target 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 Global Res cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

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.