Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 451 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,982 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 451 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $757,892,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $518,089,000 after buying an additional 234,409 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 62,916 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on TGT shares. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.40.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $103.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $122.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.54. Target Co. has a one year low of $101.76 and a one year high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. 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 4.32%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

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.