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

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors lifted 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. FMR LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 470,990 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth about $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Target by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer's stock worth $726,814,000 after purchasing an additional 754,883 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America downgraded Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Target from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.68.

Target Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of TGT stock traded up $2.55 on Tuesday, hitting $96.84. 4,913,891 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,008,795. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $97.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.37. 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 quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid 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 4.63%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.23%.

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.