Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Abel Hall LLC

Abel Hall LLC reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,909 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Abel Hall LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. State Street Corp lifted its position in Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 130,691 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 1.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after buying an additional 62,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $475,914,000 after acquiring an additional 56,695 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $140.28 on Thursday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.64. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $64.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Daiwa America downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. One equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

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.