Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,503 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,647 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $5,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Target by 8.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after buying an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Target by 6.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $517,620,000 after acquiring an additional 62,916 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $104.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.47. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $103.46 and a twelve month high of $181.86. 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. As a group, research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.55.

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.