Chase Investment Counsel Corp Lowers Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,162 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 11.7% during the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Target by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $518,089,000 after purchasing an additional 234,409 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 1.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $124.37 on Friday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. 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 company has a market cap of $56.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $133.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.35.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.93.

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.