Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 23,690 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 650,505 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 23,690 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of Target worth $87,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,930,569 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,964,565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,338,729 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,532,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358,348 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,885,015 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 470,990 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $757,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Target by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,376,640 shares of the retailer's stock worth $726,814,000 after buying an additional 754,883 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on Target in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Target from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 7th. Cfra Research downgraded shares of Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Mkm restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $122.00 target price (down previously from $131.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Target from $146.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.37.

Target Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $2.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.68. 5,725,144 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,773,877. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.74. Target Co. has a 1-year low of $87.35 and a 1-year high of $167.40. The firm has a market cap of $43.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Research analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Target's payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Target 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.