Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Altshuler Shaham Ltd

Altshuler Shaham Ltd trimmed its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 56.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,700 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,047 shares during the quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Target were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholas Company Inc. raised its position in Target by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,544,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 144.9% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,699,000 after acquiring an additional 138,751 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $6,459,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 3,231 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Target by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TGT. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.20.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $90.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $169.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $110.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. Target’s payout ratio 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.