Carret Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Carret Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,316 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $7,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 144.9% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,699,000 after buying an additional 138,751 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $1,566,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 133,563 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,055,000 after buying an additional 6,341 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

Target Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of TGT opened at $104.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $104.01 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. On average, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

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.