Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Wintrust Investments LLC

Wintrust Investments LLC increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 56.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 342 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $46,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of TGT. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $297,122,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 773.1% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,795,000 after buying an additional 737,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $104.37 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $104.01 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $47.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.97 and its 200-day moving average is $140.26. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa America downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $122.00 target price on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

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.