Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,109,048 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,068,832 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Target were worth $961,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,603,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Target by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 445 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 18,593 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.90.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $104.37 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $47.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.75. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $100.50 and a 1-year high of $177.89.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.56%.

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.