Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 44,770 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,525 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $6,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. State Street Corp raised its stake in Target by 8.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $297,122,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Target by 173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 773.1% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,795,000 after acquiring an additional 737,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $104.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $129.35 and a 200-day moving average of $139.88. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $103.46 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $122.00 target price on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.87.

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.