HUB Investment Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,988 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Target by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 7.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 3.1% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 704,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $109,752,000 after purchasing an additional 21,241 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $644,000. Finally, Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $436,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $104.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $125.89 and its 200-day moving average is $138.03. Target Co. has a one year low of $101.76 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 price target on Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.55.

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.