Dodge & Cox Reduces Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Dodge & Cox trimmed its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,719 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,055 shares during the quarter. Dodge & Cox’s holdings in Target were worth $15,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $757,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at $297,122,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,532,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Target by 8,114.3% in the 4th quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 728,934 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $98,538,000 after purchasing an additional 720,060 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 23,464.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 605,618 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $81,867,000 after purchasing an additional 603,048 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $92.14 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $87.35 and a 52-week high of $169.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. 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 $111.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.99.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.57.

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.