Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Stake Lessened by Kanawha Capital Management LLC

Kanawha Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,075 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,071 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $13,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TGT. State Street Corp increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 9,940.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,001,391 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $311,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Target by 173.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,200 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Target by 11.7% during 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. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in Target by 773.1% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,795,000 after purchasing an additional 737,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Daiwa America lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Target from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $128.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. Target Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $181.86. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $135.20 and its 200-day moving average is $143.44.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

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.