Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by WBI Investments LLC

WBI Investments LLC cut its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 59.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,939 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,803 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TGT. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Target by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Target by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,332,317,000 after acquiring an additional 470,990 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Target by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $726,814,000 after acquiring an additional 754,883 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $97.89 on Tuesday. Target Co. has a one year low of $87.35 and a one year high of $167.40. 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 market cap of $44.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.28.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 4.58%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $122.00 target price on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on Target from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.29.

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.