Alberta Investment Management Corp Increases Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,700 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $5,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional 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 worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 9,940.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,458 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $369,295,000 after acquiring 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 worth $1,555,542,000 after acquiring 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 worth $129,795,000 after acquiring an additional 737,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $130.76 on Thursday. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $59.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.84.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.70.

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.