Apriem Advisors Sells 761 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Apriem Advisors lessened its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,938 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 761 shares during the period. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Target were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Target by 11.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Target by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $518,089,000 after purchasing an additional 234,409 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Target by 1.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 2.6 %

TGT opened at $124.05 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.06 and a 200-day moving average of $142.56. The company has a market capitalization of $56.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TGT. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Target from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.93.

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.