Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,819 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Target were worth $11,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Target by 8.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter valued at $297,122,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings 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 worth $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 773.1% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,795,000 after acquiring an additional 737,384 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $108.43 on Tuesday. 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 $49.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $101.76 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $125.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.62.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion during 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 anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.