Ballentine Partners LLC Has $2.02 Million Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 21.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,415 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $2,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. Barclays lifted their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup raised Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.61.

Target Stock Up 2.0 %

Target stock traded up $2.88 on Monday, hitting $149.01. 204,551 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,875,809. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.92.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.38%.

Target 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.