Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,116 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Target by 175.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.93.

Target Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $124.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $56.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $133.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

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.