Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 117 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,439 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Target by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,801 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $311,937,000 after buying an additional 1,981,458 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Target by 173.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,369,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $369,295,000 after buying an additional 1,502,200 shares during the period. 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Target by 773.1% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 832,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,795,000 after acquiring an additional 737,384 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Target from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.70.

Target Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of TGT stock opened at $135.27 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $135.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.11. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. 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 3.31%. Target’s payout ratio is 47.51%.

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.