Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 4,494 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,037 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,494 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Target were worth $5,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,351 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,805,000 after buying an additional 2,766 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,577 shares of the retailer's stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Target by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,605 shares of the retailer's stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 56,193 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,596,000 after buying an additional 5,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Target by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 17,387 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded down $5.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $93.01. 27,006,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,023,308. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $167.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company's 50 day moving average is $97.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.12.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cfra Research cut shares of Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $127.29.

About Target

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.