SlateStone Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,246 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target by 148.6% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Target from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.18.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $158.88. The company had a trading volume of 3,646,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,057,118. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.77. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week 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 stock has a market cap of $73.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.