Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 796 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 26.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,795 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 796 shares during the quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth $759,810,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Target during the 1st quarter worth about $335,870,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 15,009.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after buying an additional 1,745,459 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 51,357.7% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,834,000 after buying an additional 1,218,204 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,683,228 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $382,145,000 after buying an additional 984,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of TGT stock traded up $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $158.50. The company had a trading volume of 3,188,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,059,595. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.56. The company has a market cap of $73.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis 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 (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on TGT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Target from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Target from $147.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.52.

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.