Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 85.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,212 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 48,290 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cynosure Group LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of Target by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in shares of Target by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Target by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 15,678 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Target by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on TGT. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.57.

Target Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $137.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $63.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $181.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.82.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.68 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 paid 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 3.25%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

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.