Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Purchased by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,625 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,668 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Target were worth $1,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. State Street Corp lifted its position in Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after acquiring an additional 470,990 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $757,892,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Target by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $518,089,000 after purchasing an additional 234,409 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Target by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,144,828 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $425,118,000 after purchasing an additional 91,357 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.90.

Target Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE TGT opened at $105.84 on Thursday. Target Co. has a one year low of $99.98 and a one year high of $177.23. The firm has a market cap of $48.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.54. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Target Company 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.