Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 277,320 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14,680 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Target worth $37,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Target by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,708 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 6,610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $536,000. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 5,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 2,375 shares during the period. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,242 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,927,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.57.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $92.14 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $169.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.99.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

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.