Physicians Financial Services Inc. Trims Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. lessened its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,180 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 57.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 183,365 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,579,000 after acquiring an additional 66,870 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its position in Target by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,302 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC acquired a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at $1,532,000. Monte Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 22.6% in the third quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 50,932 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,938,000 after purchasing an additional 9,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 9,940.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Daiwa America cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $128.20 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $134.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.74.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.