Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 2,766 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,351 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,766 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 9,940.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after buying an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Target by 173.2% during 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 boosted its stake in Target by 11.7% during 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, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 711.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,762,000 after buying an additional 768,479 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on TGT. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.23.

Target Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $133.62 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $61.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $136.13 and its 200 day moving average is $145.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.