WFA Asset Management Corp Acquires 265 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,222 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Target accounts for approximately 0.3% of WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.61.

Target Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Target stock traded down $0.79 on Wednesday, hitting $144.60. 915,668 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,909,743. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $152.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.41. The company has a market capitalization of $66.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The business had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

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.