Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Purchased by Nicholas Company Inc.

Nicholas Company Inc. grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,810 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 9,485 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc.'s holdings in Target were worth $7,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth $682,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,180 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Target by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the retailer's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $253,000. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors raised its stake in Target by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 5,240 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Target from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.55.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT traded down $0.75 on Thursday, hitting $104.19. The company had a trading volume of 5,848,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,820,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $47.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $103.46 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The company's fifty day moving average price is $127.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.71.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.