National Pension Service Boosts Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 46.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,538,247 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 488,346 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.34% of Target worth $207,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Target by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Target by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $1,566,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Target by 8.6% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,619,000 after buying an additional 9,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,438,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

Target Trading Up 1.3 %

Target stock opened at $127.36 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $58.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $134.20 and its 200 day moving average is $142.69. Target Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. 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.