Sunbelt Securities Inc. Has $727,000 Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. cut its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,102 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 503 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,401,142,000 after acquiring an additional 417,818 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Target by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,447,538,000 after buying an additional 868,274 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,357,525,000 after buying an additional 137,180 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $759,810,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,873,399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $409,230,000 after acquiring an additional 125,489 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on TGT. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.61.

Target Trading Down 0.3 %

TGT stock opened at $146.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $153.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.06. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

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.