Simmons Bank Grows Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Simmons Bank boosted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,836 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 4.3% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in Target by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in Target by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Target by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 3,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.93.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $122.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.42. Target Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

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.