Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Position Lessened by Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 27,977 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,303 shares during the quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $3,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TGT. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Target by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Target by 173.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Target by 11.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Target by 773.1% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,795,000 after buying an additional 737,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Target during the third quarter valued at about $106,493,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $124.40 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.41 and a 200-day moving average of $142.74. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted 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). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on TGT. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

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.