First Bank & Trust Decreases Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

First Bank & Trust lessened its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,511 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Target were worth $204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cynosure Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Target by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Target by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 3,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $128.20 on Friday. Target Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $58.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.15. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.74.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

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.