V Square Quantitative Management LLC Has $1.68 Million Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,427 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Target by 173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 773.1% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,795,000 after acquiring an additional 737,384 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $128.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $58.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $135.20 and its 200-day moving average is $143.44. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.