LSV Asset Management Buys 54,710 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 278,410 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,710 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.06% of Target worth $37,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scotia Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its holdings in Target by 8,114.3% in the 4th quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 728,934 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $98,538,000 after buying an additional 720,060 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth $232,000. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in Target by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 21,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,964,000 after buying an additional 8,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in Target by 239.5% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 357,593 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $46,682,000 after acquiring an additional 252,266 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $92.77 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.86. 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 has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $87.35 and a twelve month high of $171.06.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The company 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%. 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 Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.57.

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.