Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Raises Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 58,659 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $10,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after buying an additional 417,818 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Target by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after acquiring an additional 868,274 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,357,525,000 after acquiring an additional 137,180 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $759,810,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,873,399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $409,230,000 after acquiring an additional 125,489 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.3 %

Target stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $145.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,185,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,916,755. The stock has a market cap of $67.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.19. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $152.97 and a 200 day moving average of $153.33.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. Target’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Gordon Haskett boosted their price target on shares of Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.61.

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.