Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 13,662 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 45.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,662 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,662 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $5,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,122,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Target by 173.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 773.1% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,795,000 after buying an additional 737,384 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $104.29 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $101.76 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $125.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.03. 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 cap of $47.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of several research reports. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 target price on Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.55.

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.