SlateStone Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

SlateStone Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,604 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,012 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TGT. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $297,122,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Target by 173.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 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. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Target by 773.1% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,795,000 after purchasing an additional 737,384 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 0.2 %

TGT opened at $104.71 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Target Co. has a one year low of $103.46 and a one year high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Target from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

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.