Beacon Financial Group Reduces Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Beacon Financial Group trimmed its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,052 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 182 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Target were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schear Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Target by 122.2% during the fourth quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,637 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 979 shares during the period. Edmp Inc. raised its holdings in Target by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth $841,000. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC boosted its stake in Target by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of Target stock opened at $127.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $58.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $135.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.56. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

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.