Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Position Raised by Register Financial Advisors LLC

Register Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,902 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $759,810,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $250,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,459 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 51,357.7% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,204 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Target by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,683,228 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $382,145,000 after purchasing an additional 984,464 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Target by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Gordon Haskett increased their target price on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. TheStreet raised shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.61.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $148.14. 12,772,387 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,949,080. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $152.97 and its 200 day moving average is $153.10. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $102.93 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $68.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion during 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%. Target’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.