Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Buys 26,071 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 30.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,698 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,071 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Target were worth $14,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Target by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $475,914,000 after purchasing an additional 56,695 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $131.29 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $60.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $135.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.98.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released 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). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. HSBC cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

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.