Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,317,280 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 39,732 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.29% of Target worth $178,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Target by 175.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Target by 110.7% in 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 period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its position in Target by 47.5% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on TGT. Bank of America dropped their target price on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $128.13.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock traded up $1.49 on Friday, reaching $98.56. The company had a trading volume of 6,355,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,906,992. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 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. The company's fifty day moving average is $98.24 and its 200 day moving average is $121.85. The company has a market cap of $44.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

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.