Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Capital International Inc. CA

Capital International Inc. CA boosted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 22.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,729 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 11,048 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Target were worth $10,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth $318,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Target by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 225,602 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,130,000 after buying an additional 8,585 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 5,579 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,356 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $505,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on TGT. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Target from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.57.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT traded up $2.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $149.00. 2,339,099 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,850,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $68.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.33. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly 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). Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The company had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.