Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Acquires 8,830 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 40.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,450 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 8,830 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in Target were worth $4,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Target by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,434,565 shares of the retailer's stock worth $193,669,000 after acquiring an additional 324,021 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in shares of Target by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 184,966 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $25,004,000 after buying an additional 10,932 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Target by 2,005.1% in the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 27,471 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,714,000 after buying an additional 26,166 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Target by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,647,094 shares of the retailer's stock worth $222,661,000 after buying an additional 42,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its stake in Target by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 207,029 shares of the retailer's stock worth $27,986,000 after acquiring an additional 21,310 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Target stock traded up $1.40 on Friday, hitting $96.71. 5,270,945 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,689,846. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.31. Target Co. has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year high of $167.40. The company has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. Target's payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Mizuho began coverage on Target in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.37.

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.