Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 15,865 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,272,682 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15,865 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $172,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,484,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,980,381 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,555,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,044 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,456,000 after purchasing an additional 130,691 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,321,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,620,000 after buying an additional 62,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Target by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $475,914,000 after buying an additional 56,695 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Down 2.5 %

TGT stock opened at $131.29 on Friday. Target Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.98.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 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 the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on TGT. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa America cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Target from $167.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.70.

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.