Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by BLB&B Advisors LLC

BLB&B Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,721 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,054 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its position in Target by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Target by 1.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in shares of Target by 3.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of Target by 0.4% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen dropped their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $131.29 on Friday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $181.86. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $135.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.98. The company has a market cap of $60.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 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 issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.