Verity & Verity LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,256 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,035 shares during the period. Target accounts for approximately 1.5% of Verity & Verity LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $16,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $921,000. Somerset Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Target by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 17,387 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Target by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 56,193 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,596,000 after acquiring an additional 5,408 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at $5,961,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its position in Target by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 20,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Friday. Finally, HSBC downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.23.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $133.62 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $136.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.23.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued 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 yield of 3.35%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.