KBC Group NV Raises Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGTFree Report) by 318.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 364,381 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 277,403 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.08% of Target worth $49,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,984 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management increased its holdings in Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 36,679 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,958,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Target by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,386 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. MKT Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 3,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 4,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Daiwa America lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.57.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on TGT

Target Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $142.44 on Tuesday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $65.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.79.

Target (NYSE:TGTGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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

Target Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Target (NYSE:TGT)

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