Trek Financial LLC Increases Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Trek Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 51.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,970 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,369 shares during the quarter. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Target by 175.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Target during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.24.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $95.70 on Monday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $90.62 and a 1 year 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $119.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.60. The company has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Target Announces Dividend

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

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.