Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 80,947 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 639,684 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,947 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.14% of Target worth $113,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in Target by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 6,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. bought a new position in Target in the 1st quarter worth approximately $627,000. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its position in Target by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 6,438 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Target in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in Target by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 524,101 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $86,807,000 after buying an additional 19,959 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on TGT shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Target from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Piper Sandler began coverage on Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. BNP Paribas began coverage on Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.57.

Target Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of TGT stock traded down $3.84 on Thursday, reaching $152.09. 2,888,165 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,895,176. The stock has a market cap of $70.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.19. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.03.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.