The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 535,817 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 13,546 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.12% of Target worth $72,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Target by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 19,553 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,643,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc increased its stake in Target by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 5,903 shares of the retailer's stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management raised its position in Target by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 2,591 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cfra Research lowered Target from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Target from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.37.

Target Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE TGT traded down $1.86 during trading on Monday, reaching $95.51. 1,833,331 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,735,990. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $87.35 and a 1 year high of $167.40. The stock has a market cap of $43.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.39.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.