Prudential PLC Sells 48,981 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Prudential PLC cut its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 58.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,365 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 48,981 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Target were worth $4,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nicholas Company Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,544,000 after buying an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Target by 144.9% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,699,000 after acquiring an additional 138,751 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,459,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Target by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Target by 185.4% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 14,628 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 9,502 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TGT shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Target from $134.00 to $124.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.24.

Target Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of TGT opened at $95.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $90.62 and a 52-week high of $173.05. The company has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $119.41 and a 200 day moving average of $134.73.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Target Company 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.