Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires Shares of 154,093 Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 154,093 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $20,840,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 193,933 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,226,000 after buying an additional 6,037 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth approximately $378,000. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 13.1% during the third quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,264 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 75.0% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 146,995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,725,000 after purchasing an additional 62,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 7.1% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,692 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $95.70 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $119.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.73. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $90.62 and a 52-week high of $173.05. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $43.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. Equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 50.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.24.

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.