First Bank & Trust Has $336,000 Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

First Bank & Trust lessened its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,895 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Target were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 62,354 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,050,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Target by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. raised its stake in Target by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 6,565 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 16,549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in Target by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 7,382 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 0.9 %

TGT opened at $148.04 on Friday. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $68.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $152.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.22.

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

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders 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 3.03%. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on TGT. HSBC upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.61.

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.