Curbstone Financial Management Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,272 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $1,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Target by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,254 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,551,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Target by 358.7% during the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,490,000 after purchasing an additional 20,188 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Target by 499.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 224,657 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,369,000 after buying an additional 187,199 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 5,231 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Target by 318.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 364,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,257,000 after buying an additional 277,403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $142.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $65.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $134.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.79. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. Target’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

About Target

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.