Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC Acquires 1,716 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,459 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,716 shares during the quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Target by 56.5% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,228 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 5,137 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 45.4% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 15.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 36,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,811 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Target by 39.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 159.5% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 10,698 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 6,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $133.62 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $136.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

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). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.23.

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.