Optas LLC Lowers Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Optas LLC lowered its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,415 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in Target by 156.5% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 175.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. 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. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

Target Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $135.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.21. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a market cap of $62.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

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.