Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Position Increased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 598,831 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,279 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $80,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in Target by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 241,447 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,632,000 after acquiring an additional 19,095 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,247,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Target by 249.6% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Target by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,345 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on TGT shares. StockNews.com cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price target on Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $122.00 target price on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $107.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $130.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.51. 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 one year low of $107.02 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $49.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. Analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

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.