Allstate Corp Purchases New Shares in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 13,598 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,838,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholas Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,544,000 after buying an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Target by 144.9% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,699,000 after acquiring an additional 138,751 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,459,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Target by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Finally, Northeast Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $103.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $47.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $101.76 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.46.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.40.

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.