Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Grove Bank & Trust

Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,157 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Target were worth $171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Little House Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,041,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Target by 23.6% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 642,340 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $112,686,000 after purchasing an additional 122,706 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 11.4% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the 1st quarter worth about $13,958,000. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 130,179 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,540,000 after buying an additional 6,348 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Target from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Target from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “inline” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Target from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.52.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT traded up $1.68 on Friday, reaching $158.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,188,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,059,595. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $102.93 and a twelve month high of $181.86. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $145.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.56. The stock has a market cap of $73.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend 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.