Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Sells 146 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,300 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in Target by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 53,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,165,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Rahlfs Capital LLC purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $1,227,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,535 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE TGT opened at $95.70 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $119.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.73. The company has a market capitalization of $43.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Co. has a 52 week low of $90.62 and a 52 week high of $173.05.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett cut Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.24.

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.