Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Asset Dedication LLC

Asset Dedication LLC cut its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 70.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,732 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,414 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Cynosure Group LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Target by 1.2% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in Target by 3.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Target by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

Target Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $140.28 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $64.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $133.80 and its 200-day moving average is $144.64. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 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 business had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

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.