Palouse Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,397 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,916 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,397 shares during the quarter. Target makes up 2.0% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 11.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 1.4% in the 3rd 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 1.9% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $475,914,000 after purchasing an additional 56,695 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment 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, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $127.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $58.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.21. Target Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $181.86.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Target Company 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.