Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 1,094 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,005 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,094 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Target by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 9,940.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Target by 173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 773.1% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,795,000 after buying an additional 737,384 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $127.50 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.56. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

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.