Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC Buys Shares of 542 Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 542 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $96,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after acquiring an additional 417,818 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Target by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,447,538,000 after buying an additional 868,274 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,357,525,000 after buying an additional 137,180 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $759,810,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,873,399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $409,230,000 after acquiring an additional 125,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.61.

Target Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $146.74 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.06. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $67.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The company had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio 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.