Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Lowers Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,142 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,414 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.06% of Target worth $39,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Target by 8.3% in 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 9,940.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Target by 173.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 711.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 876,531 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,762,000 after acquiring an additional 768,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $137.24 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $134.98 and its 200 day moving average is $144.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $62.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.16. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 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 the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TGT. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. HSBC downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.57.

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.