Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lessened its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 49.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,200 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 54,400 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $7,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Target by 11.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,044 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Target by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,456,000 after acquiring an additional 130,691 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Target by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,832,585 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $518,089,000 after acquiring an additional 234,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 1.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after buying an additional 62,916 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of TGT opened at $104.19 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.47. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $103.46 and a 1-year high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $47.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.55.

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.