Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Acquired by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,553 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Target by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 11.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 1.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $475,914,000 after purchasing an additional 56,695 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $128.20 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $58.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.15. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.74.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

About Target

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.