Advisors Capital Management LLC Sells 8,881 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Advisors Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,653 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,881 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $25,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Target by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Target by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in Target by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 445 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 18,593 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $92.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.86. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $171.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.57.

Target 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.