South Dakota Investment Council Acquires 50,011 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

South Dakota Investment Council raised its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 42.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 166,921 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,011 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Target were worth $22,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Target by 173.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in Target by 773.1% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,795,000 after acquiring an additional 737,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter worth about $106,493,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 2.9 %

TGT opened at $124.40 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. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $134.41 and its 200 day moving average is $142.74.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TGT. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

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.