Great Lakes Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 563,942 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,418 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Target worth $76,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Target by 175.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Target by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Target from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Target Stock Down 0.8 %

TGT opened at $112.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $131.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.74. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $111.84 and a twelve month 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 cap of $51.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

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.