Crewe Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 580 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $103,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $318,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Target by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 225,602 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,130,000 after purchasing an additional 8,585 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 5,579 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,356 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $505,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.57.

Target Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE TGT traded up $2.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $149.01. The company had a trading volume of 486,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,837,177. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $148.21 and its 200 day moving average is $154.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $68.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Target Company 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.