Olstein Capital Management L.P. Cuts Stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 32.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Target were worth $7,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in Target by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 42,954 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,612,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Marest Capital LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Target by 909.1% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,110 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Target by 9.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 3,222 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Target by 0.6% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 48,326 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,564,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Target stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $144.80. 1,633,259 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,915,393. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $66.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $152.12 and a 200-day moving average of $153.41. Target Co. has a 12 month low of $102.93 and a 12 month high of $181.86.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. Target’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 49.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Target from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Target from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Gordon Haskett upped their price target on Target from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.61.

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.