American Century Companies Inc. Sells 699,872 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 46.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 820,022 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 699,872 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Target worth $110,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Target by 175.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $104.29 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.89 and its 200 day moving average is $137.93. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $101.76 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.55.

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.