Griffin Asset Management Inc. Purchases 757 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 63,254 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 757 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $8,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Creative Planning increased its position in Target by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 198,240 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,347,000 after purchasing an additional 7,978 shares during the period. Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the second quarter worth about $249,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 54.3% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after buying an additional 4,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its stake in Target by 9.1% during the second quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 3,598 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $142.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $65.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.70.

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.