First Financial Bank Trust Division Reduces Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

First Financial Bank Trust Division reduced its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,387 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Target were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Target by 173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position 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. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 711.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,762,000 after purchasing an additional 768,479 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on TGT. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.57.

Target Trading Up 1.5 %

TGT stock traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $137.19. 4,325,123 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,545,802. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $139.15 and its 200-day moving average is $145.87. The company has a market cap of $62.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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.