Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 52.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,240 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Target were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Target by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,490 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,197,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 2.5% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.87.

Target Stock Up 0.2 %

TGT stock opened at $104.71 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $103.46 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $47.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

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.