3,954 Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Acquired by &Partners

&Partners acquired a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,954 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $710,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.61.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $146.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $154.75 and a 200-day moving average of $152.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The company had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

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.