LVW Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

LVW Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 43.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,779 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,942 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Target by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Target by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,619,000 after buying an additional 9,510 shares during the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Target by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 217,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,834,000 after buying an additional 69,885 shares during the last quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $2,272,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter worth $967,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $133.62 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $136.13 and its 200 day moving average is $145.15.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.23.

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.