Brighton Jones LLC Grows Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 101.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,059 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Target by 39.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after buying an additional 7,860 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Target by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,872 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 107,751 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,951,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 173.3% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 33,004 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,886,000 after acquiring an additional 20,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Target by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 529,573 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $78,398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,027 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $137.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.82. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $63.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. 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 (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). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Daiwa America lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.57.

Target 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.