Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC Trims Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,398 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 754 shares during the quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Target in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $116.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.61.

Target Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE TGT traded up $1.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $148.04. The stock had a trading volume of 12,772,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,818,235. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.52 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.