Adero Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Adero Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,577 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Target by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after buying an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Target by 11.7% in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $517,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Target by 1.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $475,914,000 after purchasing an additional 56,695 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $134.59 on Friday. 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 $61.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.04. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $181.86.

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

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America cut their target price on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Roth Mkm cut their target price on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

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.