BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 11,025 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,220 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 11,025 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Target were worth $11,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Target by 175.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 264 shares of the retailer's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $122.00 price target (down from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W lowered Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price target on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.68.

Target Stock Down 0.5%

TGT stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,384,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,990,895. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.21. The company has a market capitalization of $43.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.35). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. Target's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.64%. Target's dividend payout ratio is 49.23%.

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.