QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 2,739 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,297 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,739 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $10,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 148.6% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Target from $191.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.46.

Target Stock Up 1.1 %

TGT stock traded up $1.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $135.50. The company had a trading volume of 3,778,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,882,848. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $62.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.