Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,577 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Target by 8.3% during the 3rd 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. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Target by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,374,851 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $647,652,000 after purchasing an additional 279,656 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Target by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Melius Research began coverage on Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.23.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $133.62 on Monday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $136.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.