Calton & Associates Inc. Reduces Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Calton & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 266 shares during the quarter. Calton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after acquiring an additional 417,818 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Target by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,357,525,000 after purchasing an additional 137,180 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $759,810,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,873,399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $409,230,000 after purchasing an additional 125,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $148.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target Co. has a one year low of $102.93 and a one year high of $181.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $152.97 and a 200 day moving average of $153.10.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a return on equity of 31.91% and a net margin of 3.87%. The firm had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Target from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Target from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Target from $142.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.61.

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.