Advisors Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,075 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $3,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Target by 8.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after buying 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Target by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $518,089,000 after buying an additional 234,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $104.29 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $101.76 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.89 and its 200 day moving average is $138.13.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.55.

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.