First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $2.52 Million Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,245 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,006 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $759,810,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $250,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Target by 51,357.7% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,576 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,204 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Target by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,683,228 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $382,145,000 after purchasing an additional 984,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Target by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Target from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.61.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $144.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.29. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The business had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. Target’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.38%.

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.