Mariner LLC Grows Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 484,982 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,114 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $65,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 470,990 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $757,892,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Target by 6.5% in the fourth 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, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,144,828 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $425,118,000 after buying an additional 91,357 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of TGT opened at $94.45 on Tuesday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $87.35 and a 52-week high of $169.80. The stock has a market cap of $43.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors 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 yield of 4.74%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Target in a report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.57.

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.