Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Bought by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 52.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,520 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,627 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Target were worth $12,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. White Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 21,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,856,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Target by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 12,427 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Target by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 40,788 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,578 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 959 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Capital Management LLC WI acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $948,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.70.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $128.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $135.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.44.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

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.