Target (NYSE:TGT) Given New $135.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Target (NYSE:TGT) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

TGT has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.23.

Target Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $116.70 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.91 and its 200 day moving average is $141.92. The company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target has a 1 year low of $112.53 and a 1 year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Target by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $1,566,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Target by 8.6% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,619,000 after acquiring an additional 9,510 shares during the period. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $1,438,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.