Welch Group LLC Boosts Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Welch Group LLC increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,887 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,688 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $5,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Target by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,964,565,000 after buying an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after buying an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,332,317,000 after buying an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Target by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $726,814,000 after buying an additional 754,883 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $94.81 on Friday. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $96.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.65. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Target from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.68.

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.