Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co raised its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,695 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,603 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Target were worth $8,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth $297,122,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. raised its holdings in Target by 8,114.3% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 728,934 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $98,538,000 after buying an additional 720,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Target by 23,464.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 605,618 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $81,867,000 after buying an additional 603,048 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.03.

Target Stock Down 4.8 %

NYSE TGT traded down $4.73 on Thursday, reaching $92.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,077,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,460,433. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.70 and a 200-day moving average of $132.73. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $173.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 4.82%. 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.