M&T Bank Corp Sells 3,671 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

M&T Bank Corp cut its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 423,071 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,671 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $57,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Target by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Target by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,566,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Target by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,619,000 after buying an additional 9,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth about $1,438,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $117.05 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $112.53 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.09. The firm has a market cap of $53.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.43.

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.