Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,344 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Target by 9,940.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 773.1% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,795,000 after buying an additional 737,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Target in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.57.

Target Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $142.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $65.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted 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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Target’s dividend payout ratio 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.