Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,735 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,857,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,252 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $3,556,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Target by 87.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 141,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,122,000 after buying an additional 66,014 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Target by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 542.5% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 108,151 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,620,000 after buying an additional 91,318 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Monday, November 25th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Friday, January 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered 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. Truist Financial increased their target price on Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

Target Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $131.29 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $135.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.84. The company has a market capitalization of $60.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.51%.

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.