Advisors Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Advisors Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 252,869 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 33,459 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Target worth $22,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 38,819 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 11,378 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,236,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 122.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 41,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after buying an additional 22,968 shares during the period. QVR LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the second quarter worth approximately $11,014,000. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Target by 446.4% in the 3rd quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,836 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 19,474 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore set a $105.00 price target on Target in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their target price on Target from $89.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. DA Davidson set a $120.00 price target on Target in a report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Target from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Target from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.45.

Target Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $116.45 on Wednesday. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $131.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.14.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. Target had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 22.74%. The firm had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 55.34%.

Target Profile

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.