D.A. Davidson & CO. Buys 8,815 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,273 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,815 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Target were worth $17,340,000 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. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Target by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Target by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,566,000. Prana Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Target by 47.5% during the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 217,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,834,000 after purchasing an additional 69,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polianta Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 10,300 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Friday, January 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock opened at $127.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $135.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.13. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Target’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.