State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Increases Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,029 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 21,310 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Target were worth $27,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,122,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Target by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,532,769,000 after buying an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Target by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after buying an additional 1,306,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $150,046,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Cfra Research cut shares of Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.37.

Target Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of TGT traded up $1.40 on Friday, reaching $96.71. The stock had a trading volume of 5,268,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,689,840. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm 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 50-day simple moving average of $106.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.31. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given 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 presently 50.56%.

Target Company 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.