Summit Global Investments Raises Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 513.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,356 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,342 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Target were worth $1,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Target by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,544,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 144.9% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,699,000 after purchasing an additional 138,751 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Target by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.55.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $104.29 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $101.76 and a 12 month high of $181.86. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $125.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.03.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.