Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,231 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of TGT. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Target by 318.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 364,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,257,000 after purchasing an additional 277,403 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Target by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,984 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management increased its position in Target by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 36,679 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,958,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Target by 14.9% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 3,585 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 3.3 %

NYSE TGT opened at $142.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. 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 Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $134.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.79.

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

Target Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. HSBC downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.57.

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.