Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,524 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,485 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Target were worth $1,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Target by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,603,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of Target by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 445 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Trading Up 1.5 %

TGT traded up $1.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.71. 5,270,945 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,689,858. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $106.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.31. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. 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 cap of $44.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on TGT. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Target from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $142.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Target from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.37.

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.