Eastern Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Eastern Bank lifted its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,965 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 663 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Target by 8.6% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,619,000 after acquiring an additional 9,510 shares in the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Target by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 217,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,834,000 after purchasing an additional 69,885 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $967,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Citigroup downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $188.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research began coverage on Target in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.57.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $136.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.39.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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.