E&G Advisors LP Acquires 259 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

E&G Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,451 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP’s holdings in Target were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have 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 worth $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 62,916 shares during 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 worth $475,914,000 after acquiring an additional 56,695 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $134.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.80 and a 200 day moving average of $144.33. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The firm has a market cap of $61.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.16. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. Target’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

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.