Candriam S.C.A. Has $6.03 Million Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 60.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,627 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 68,257 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Target were worth $6,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cynosure Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 4.3% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in shares of Target by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 3,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on TGT. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KGI Securities raised Target to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Target from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.00.

Target Stock Up 0.9 %

Target stock opened at $115.11 on Friday. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $112.10 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.51. The company has a market capitalization of $52.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.