Quadrant Capital Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,709 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 580 shares during the quarter. Target accounts for 1.1% of Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $16,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Target by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 445 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 18,593 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.24.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $95.70 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $119.41 and a 200-day moving average of $134.73. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $90.62 and a twelve month high of $173.05. The firm has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

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.