Thompson Investment Management Inc. Acquires 2,252 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,288 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,252 shares during the quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $4,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Target by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Target by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,619,000 after buying an additional 9,510 shares during the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP lifted its position in Target by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 217,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,834,000 after buying an additional 69,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polianta Ltd increased its stake in Target by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 10,300 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Daiwa America cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.70.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $131.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $135.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results 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). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business 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 posted $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.