OFI Invest Asset Management Purchases Shares of 273 Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 273 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TGT. State Street Corp increased 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth $297,122,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased 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 during the period. FMR LLC increased 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 during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $113.74 on Tuesday. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $111.84 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $52.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. As a group, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

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.