Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 181,918 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 19,750 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Target were worth $24,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in Target by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN raised its holdings in shares of Target by 330.8% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 280 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa America downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Target in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. HSBC lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.57.

Target Stock Down 1.1 %

TGT stock opened at $133.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 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.