Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,952 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,944 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Target were worth $19,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after buying an additional 130,691 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Target by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $517,620,000 after buying an additional 62,916 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Target by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $475,914,000 after buying an additional 56,695 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on TGT. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $124.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $134.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Target’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.