Banco Santander S.A. Acquires 6,199 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 239.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,785 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,199 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of Target by 3.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 1.1% during the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 2.2% during the third quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 3,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on TGT. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $115.11 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.37. 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 $112.10 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $52.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.