Focused Investors LLC Sells 5,800 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Focused Investors LLC lowered its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 670,200 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,800 shares during the quarter. Target comprises approximately 2.9% of Focused Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $90,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Target by 8.3% during 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $297,122,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Target by 773.1% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,795,000 after buying an additional 737,384 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.55.

Target Trading Up 0.1 %

TGT stock opened at $104.29 on Friday. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $101.76 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.03.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

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.