Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Grows Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,559 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 404 shares during the quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $6,294,000 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 boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,860 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Target by 75.7% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,872 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 107,751 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 173.3% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 33,004 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,886,000 after purchasing an additional 20,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Target by 1.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 529,573 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $78,398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,027 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.5 %

TGT opened at $137.99 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $134.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.