Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Sells 202,538 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 57.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,679 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 202,538 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Target were worth $20,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 6.2% in the third quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,874 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Target by 1.5% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 28,895 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,504,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Target by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 94,277 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,694,000 after buying an additional 6,119 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Target by 1.0% during the third quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 11,134 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,735,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Target by 38.1% during the third quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 2,128 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.70.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $137.82 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $134.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.58. Target Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one 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 firm has a market cap of $63.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. Target’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect 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 Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.