Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,651 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 331 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 148.6% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 174 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 85.0% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 198 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on TGT. Citigroup upgraded Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.57.

Target Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE TGT traded up $2.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $149.00. 2,426,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,565,830. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.98 and a 200 day moving average of $154.40. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $68.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The business had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.