Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,819 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 266 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TGT. Nicholas Company Inc. lifted its position in Target by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 55,810 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,544,000 after buying an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 144.9% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 234,492 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,699,000 after purchasing an additional 138,751 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,459,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Target by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,977 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP raised its position in Target by 185.4% in the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 14,628 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 9,502 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Target from $166.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.90.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $105.84 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $48.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.54. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $99.98 and a twelve month high of $177.23.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

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.