Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 524 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,394 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 524 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 175.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 256 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 110.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 257 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.8 %

TGT stock opened at $112.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.84 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.74. The company has a market cap of $51.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. On average, research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

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.