Strong Tower Advisory Services Has $295,000 Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Strong Tower Advisory Services reduced its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,183 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 796 shares during the quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Target were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Community Bank of Raymore raised its holdings in Target by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank of Raymore now owns 4,850 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,453,000. Lincoln Capital LLC bought a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $4,859,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Target by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius Research initiated coverage on Target in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Target in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.23.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $133.62 on Monday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $61.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.