Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 781,760 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 71.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 318,093 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 781,760 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $43,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TGT. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its stake in Target by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in shares of Target by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Target by 2.5% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE TGT opened at $105.37 on Wednesday. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $101.76 and a 12 month high of $181.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.30. 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 market capitalization of $48.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Target from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.55.

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.