Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,925,254 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,397,394 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.64% of Target worth $395,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cynosure Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 4.3% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in shares of Target by 3.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,156 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 1.1% in the third quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target by 2.2% in the third quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 3,460 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE TGT traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $116.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,306,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,894,583. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $132.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.92. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $112.53 and a twelve month 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 $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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 the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Target's payout ratio is 47.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $133.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Target from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. 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 report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Target from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $148.23.

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.