Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 71,447 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,677 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $9,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,122,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Target by 773.1% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,795,000 after buying an additional 737,384 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock opened at $104.55 on Wednesday. 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 $47.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $103.46 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $127.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.95.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $134.00 to $124.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

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.