Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Acquires 17,843 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 28.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,959 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,843 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $10,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Target by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Target by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,619,000 after purchasing an additional 9,510 shares during the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Target by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 217,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,834,000 after purchasing an additional 69,885 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $967,000. Finally, Leibman Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,272,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $133.62 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $136.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.23. The company has a market cap of $61.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.87 billion. Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target Co. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given 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 3.35%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 47.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Target from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC cut shares of Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $108.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.23.

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.