Davis R M Inc. Sells 337 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Davis R M Inc. trimmed its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,965 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised 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 buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after acquiring an additional 130,691 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $518,089,000 after purchasing an additional 234,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Target by 1.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Trading Down 0.8 %

TGT opened at $112.88 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.18 and its 200-day moving average is $140.74. The company has a market cap of $51.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $111.84 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

Target Company 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.