Advisory Alpha LLC Purchases Shares of 2,051 Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,051 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Target by 39.9% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Target by 75.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,872 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 5.1% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 107,751 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 711.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,762,000 after purchasing an additional 768,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 173.3% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 33,004 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,886,000 after purchasing an additional 20,929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 1.1 %

TGT opened at $137.24 on Friday. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.57.

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.