West Tower Group LLC Purchases New Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

West Tower Group LLC purchased a new stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 3,400 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000. Target comprises about 1.0% of West Tower Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cynosure Group LLC lifted its stake in Target by 4.3% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of Target by 3.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Target by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,490 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 2.5% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $104.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $103.46 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $127.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.95.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.87.

Target Company 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.