Invst LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Invst LLC cut its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,255 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,505 shares during the period. Invst LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Target by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,964,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Target by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 470,990 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Target by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $726,814,000 after purchasing an additional 754,883 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $94.30 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.16. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $167.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $24.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Target from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Target from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Cfra Research downgraded Target from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.97.

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.