5,606,540 Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,606,540 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $757,892,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.22% of Target as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Target in the third quarter worth $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Target by 175.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Target by 110.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Target during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.40.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $106.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $123.56 and a 200-day moving average of $136.87. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $101.76 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

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.