Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) Shares Sold by Arvest Investments Inc.

Arvest Investments Inc. decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,158 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 516 shares during the quarter. Arvest Investments Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Target by 1.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 11.6% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 0.4% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 118,798 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,516,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Target by 8.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 28,250 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 25.1% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,090 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC lowered Target from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $138.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on Target from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $122.00 price target on Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $104.81 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $127.31 and a 200-day moving average of $138.71. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $103.46 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Target’s payout ratio is 50.56%.

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.