Vinva Investment Management Ltd Sells 1,820 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,974 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,820 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Target were worth $2,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $460,000. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 313,231 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,343,000 after purchasing an additional 13,890 shares during the period. Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 71,447 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,677 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,896,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $104.81 on Thursday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $103.46 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $127.31 and a 200-day moving average of $138.71. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of several research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.87.

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.