HM Payson & Co. Has $1.26 Million Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

HM Payson & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,349 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Target by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Target by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth about $1,566,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Target by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,619,000 after purchasing an additional 9,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth about $1,438,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $115.11 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.05 and a 200-day moving average of $141.49. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $112.10 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $52.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TGT. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, KGI Securities raised shares of Target to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

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.