Private Advisory Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Private Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 16.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,410 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,786 shares during the period. Private Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $10,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Target by 14.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,444,338 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,074,984,000 after buying an additional 6,607,982 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at $578,009,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Target by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,736,101 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,624,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,026 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Target by 133.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,223,776 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $219,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Target by 96.1% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,165,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $213,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,885 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TGT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $108.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Target from $117.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Target from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore set a $105.00 price objective on Target in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Target from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.45.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $116.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $52.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.14. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $127.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $106.09 and its 200-day moving average is $97.39.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.34%.

Target Profile

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.