Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Reduces Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,622 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 9,940.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Target by 12.1% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 40,790 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,358,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Target by 1.4% during the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 6,064 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 3,233 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 4,676 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $124.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $57.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 1.98 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.41 and a 200-day moving average of $142.67.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.70.

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.