Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 5,500 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Target were worth $7,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,544,000 after buying an additional 9,485 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 144.9% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,699,000 after acquiring an additional 138,751 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $6,459,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Target by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Target by 185.4% in the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 14,628 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 9,502 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.24.

Target Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $95.70 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $119.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.73. The company has a market capitalization of $43.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share 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 issued 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 4.68%. Target’s 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.