Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 602 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,230 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cynosure Group LLC raised its position in Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in Target by 3.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in Target by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Target by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,490 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.8 %

TGT opened at $112.88 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.84 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $131.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.74. The company has a market capitalization of $51.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. On average, 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 was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Target 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.