Ledyard National Bank Has $4.43 Million Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Ledyard National Bank decreased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,778 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,105 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Target were worth $4,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank raised its position in Target by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 94,277 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,694,000 after acquiring an additional 6,119 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 9,880 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,528 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Target by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 15,021 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,772 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $134.59 on Friday. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $181.86. 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 stock has a market cap of $61.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.04.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

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.