Welch & Forbes LLC Acquires 685 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,176 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 37,337 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,047,000 after buying an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 5,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,122,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 5,107.7% during the 4th quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 3,385 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Up 0.9 %

TGT stock opened at $115.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $52.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.10 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $132.05 and a 200-day moving average of $141.51.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on TGT. KGI Securities upgraded Target to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim upped their target price on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

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.