Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 62,641 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,478 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Target were worth $8,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Target by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after buying an additional 1,358,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after buying an additional 470,990 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $757,892,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Target by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,823,264 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $652,014,000 after buying an additional 840,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.2 %

TGT opened at $96.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $104.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.12. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $87.35 and a 12-month high of $167.40.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.37.

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.