Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 91,357 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,144,828 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,357 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.69% of Target worth $425,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the third quarter valued at $38,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 175.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $117.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.09. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $112.53 and a 1 year high of $181.86. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.43.

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.