Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,344 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in Target by 4.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 198,240 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,347,000 after acquiring an additional 7,978 shares during the last quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $249,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the second quarter valued at about $52,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 54.3% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,944 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in Target by 9.1% during the second quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 3,598 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 3.3 %

Target stock opened at $142.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $65.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $134.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.79.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its 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 analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.57.

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.