Great Diamond Partners LLC Sells 142 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Great Diamond Partners LLC decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,713 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Target by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,874 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1.5% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 28,895 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,504,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Target by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 94,277 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,694,000 after acquiring an additional 6,119 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 1.0% during the third quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 11,134 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. boosted its position in Target by 38.1% in the third quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 2,128 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $137.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $63.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $134.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.58. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $25.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC downgraded shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

Target 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.