Madison Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 12,950 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,751,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Target by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Target by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after buying an additional 130,691 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Target by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $518,089,000 after buying an additional 234,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE TGT opened at $104.71 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $103.46 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $129.35 and a 200-day moving average of $139.88. 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 company has a market cap of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

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.