Romano Brothers AND Company Has $3.76 Million Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Romano Brothers AND Company decreased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,235 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Target were worth $3,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Services Automobile Association raised its position in shares of Target by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 44,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $605,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 519,634 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $73,819,000 after buying an additional 24,066 shares in the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 109.9% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 27,267 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,883,000 after buying an additional 14,274 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 130,179 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,540,000 after acquiring an additional 6,348 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock traded up $1.32 on Friday, hitting $148.04. 12,772,526 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,818,235. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.61.

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.