SNS Financial Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

SNS Financial Group LLC lowered its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,650 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,406 shares during the quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Target by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Target by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Target by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,619,000 after acquiring an additional 9,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prana Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Target by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 217,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,834,000 after acquiring an additional 69,885 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

Target Stock Performance

TGT stock opened at $130.76 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $59.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $134.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.84.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.51%.

Target 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.