Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Lowers Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,641 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,478 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Target were worth $8,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Target by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 19,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,643,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc increased its stake in shares of Target by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 5,903 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Target by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 2,591 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 562.1% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 110,566 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,946,000 after buying an additional 93,866 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 0.2 %

TGT opened at $96.37 on Tuesday. Target Co. has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year high of $167.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $104.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.12. 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 earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.37.

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.