Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,008 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $297,122,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $536,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,275 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Target by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Target by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. 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. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Target from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Target from $112.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.97.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $94.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.16. The stock has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. Target Co. has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year high of $167.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $24.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Target 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.