Pitcairn Co. Purchases 807 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Pitcairn Co. raised its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,847 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Target were worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Target by 63.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 371,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $57,952,000 after acquiring an additional 144,323 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Target by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 193,933 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,226,000 after purchasing an additional 6,037 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Target by 1,002.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $378,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $95.70 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $90.62 and a 12-month high of $173.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $119.41 and a 200-day moving average of $134.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued 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 return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price target on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.24.

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.