Horizon Investments LLC Increases Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,292 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $2,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Target by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its stake in Target by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 9,511 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Target by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 118,798 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,516,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC grew its stake in Target by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 115,221 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,958,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Target from $134.00 to $124.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Target Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE TGT opened at $104.55 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a one year low of $103.46 and a one year high of $181.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $127.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.95. 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 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 (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. 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.