Legal & General Group Plc Sells 1,078,946 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,099,101 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,078,946 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.68% of Target worth $418,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Target by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,603,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of Target by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 445 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in Target by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 18,593 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Target from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KGI Securities set a $132.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Target from $134.00 to $124.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.48.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $94.23 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.25 and a fifty-two week high of $173.05. The firm has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The retailer reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $30.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.83 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

About Target

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.