Ballast Inc. Grows Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ballast Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,946 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the third quarter worth $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 156.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.23.

Target Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $133.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $136.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.14. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.