OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Reduces Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp decreased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,090 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 9,275 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $2,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its position in Target by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,544,000 after buying an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 144.9% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,699,000 after buying an additional 138,751 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,940,000 after buying an additional 3,231 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth $6,459,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Target by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $94.87 on Thursday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The firm has a market cap of $43.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.74.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Target from $124.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.63.

Target 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.