Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,022,804 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 132,086 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Target were worth $273,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its stake in Target by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 166,502 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,508,000 after buying an additional 7,727 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 2,145 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,374,000. Finally, Michael A. Dubis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on TGT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.40.

Target Stock Down 2.7 %

TGT opened at $103.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $101.76 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $122.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $30.92 billion during 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 expect 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid 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 4.32%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.