Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,012 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,490 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Target were worth $2,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. State Street Corp grew its stake in Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 9,940.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Target by 173.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 773.1% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,795,000 after acquiring an additional 737,384 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” 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 lowered their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, HSBC cut 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $135.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $135.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.15. 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 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. 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.