Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $3.34 Million Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,711 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,733 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Target were worth $3,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Target by 1.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 7.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth $153,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 6.1% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 14,466 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,255,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Target during the third quarter worth $6,370,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 price target on Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.55.

Target Stock Down 0.7 %

Target stock opened at $104.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.47. The company has a market cap of $47.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $103.46 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Equities analysts anticipate 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 Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

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.