Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,409 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $16,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 2.4% in the first quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 93,536 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the first quarter valued at $826,000. Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new position in Target in the first quarter valued at $248,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Target in the first quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in Target in the first quarter valued at $16,253,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Target from $191.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.57.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $5.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $151.43. 4,727,828 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,921,841. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $150.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.62. The company has a market cap of $70.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

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.