Arvest Investments Inc. Sells 516 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Arvest Investments Inc. lowered its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,158 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 516 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Target by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after acquiring an additional 130,691 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Target by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $518,089,000 after acquiring an additional 234,409 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Target by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after acquiring an additional 62,916 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of TGT opened at $104.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $127.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.71. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $103.46 and a 52 week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. On average, analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on TGT. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down from $131.00) on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. HSBC cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

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.