Stablepoint Partners LLC Sells 430 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Stablepoint Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,457 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its stake in Target by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Target by 1.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Target by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in Target by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.57.

Target Trading Up 0.5 %

Target stock opened at $137.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $134.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.80. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $63.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced 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). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.