Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,279 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,025 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $3,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in Target by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Target by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 10,773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Target by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Target by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,130 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co increased its position in Target by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 27,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 2.5 %

TGT traded up $3.71 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $155.01. The company had a trading volume of 3,384,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,906,641. The stock has a market cap of $71.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.92. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $102.93 and a 52 week high of $181.86. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Target from $191.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Target from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.57.

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.