Stevens Capital Management LP Has $1.98 Million Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Stevens Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 185.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,628 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,502 shares during the period. Target makes up 0.8% of Stevens Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Target were worth $1,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Target by 8.3% in 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. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Target by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $518,089,000 after purchasing an additional 234,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.55.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $104.29 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 $47.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.03. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $101.76 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. On average, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.56%.

Target 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.