Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Cuts Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,622 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $124.40 on Friday. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The company has a market capitalization of $57.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $134.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Target from $156.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Target from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.