UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Acquires 7,903 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 208.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,695 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,903 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Target were worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $759,810,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,459 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 51,357.7% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,204 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Target by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,683,228 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $382,145,000 after acquiring an additional 984,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Target by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,447,538,000 after acquiring an additional 868,274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.57.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded down $3.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $146.45. 2,948,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,866,233. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $148.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.39. The stock has a market cap of $67.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

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.