Sepio Capital LP Trims Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sepio Capital LP trimmed its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 53.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,691 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,183 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Target were worth $499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 175.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price objective on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.24.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $95.70 on Monday. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $90.62 and a 12-month high of $173.05. The firm has a market capitalization 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. 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 $119.41 and a 200 day moving average of $134.60.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.