Fisher Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 48.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,487 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,871 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 15,009.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,757,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $250,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,459 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Target by 37,301.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,698,764 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $187,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,222 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Target by 26.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,762,227 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $747,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,900 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 56.3% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $313,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Target by 2,409.8% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 779,140 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $86,150,000 after purchasing an additional 748,096 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Target from $140.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC raised shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. 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 note on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet raised shares of Target from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Target Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE TGT opened at $159.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.93 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $166.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.90. The stock has a market cap of $73.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The retailer reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.57. Target had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $31.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Target’s payout ratio is 49.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Target news, insider Christina Hennington sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.88, for a total transaction of $786,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,576,658.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.52, for a total transaction of $7,538,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 346,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,115,870.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,600 shares of company stock worth $8,819,598. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Profile

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.