Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 85,251 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,958,365 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 85,251 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.81% of Target worth $6,077,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cynosure Group LLC grew its position in Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in Target by 3.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Target by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Target by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,490 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Target by 2.5% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $104.29 on Monday. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.76 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.93.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.55.

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.