Brown Advisory Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Brown Advisory Inc. lessened its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 171,164 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 24,229 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $23,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bearing Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth $962,000. BNP Paribas increased its position in Target by 366.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 7,922 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,222 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Target by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,968,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $536,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,275 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $410,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:TGT opened at $93.69 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $42.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.74.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TGT. StockNews.com cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.37.

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.