Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Holdings Decreased by WBH Advisory Inc.

WBH Advisory Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,378 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. WBH Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 11.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 62,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $475,914,000 after acquiring an additional 56,695 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE TGT opened at $127.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $135.11 and a 200-day moving average of $143.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week 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 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 analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

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.