Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 3,830 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Independent Advisor Alliance lowered its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,419 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,830 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Target were worth $4,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.6% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 241,447 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,632,000 after purchasing an additional 19,095 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Target by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Target by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,777 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Target by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 4,452 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its position in Target by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 2,242 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Target from $134.00 to $124.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.87.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $112.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $111.84 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $131.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.74. 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 results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

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.