Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. Grows Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,525 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Target by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in Target by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 11,272 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Friday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

Target Stock Up 0.2 %

TGT opened at $141.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $133.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.64. The stock has a market cap of $64.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.