Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,717 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,981 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Target were worth $6,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 142.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 60,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,788,000 after purchasing an additional 35,759 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Target by 163.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 168,426 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,847,000 after purchasing an additional 104,529 shares during the period. Invst LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Invst LLC now owns 11,586 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $107,367,000. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Target by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 56,850 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,074,000 after purchasing an additional 7,639 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

TGT traded down $7.85 on Friday, reaching $139.17. The company had a trading volume of 6,476,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,389,742. Target Co. has a 1 year low of $102.93 and a 1 year high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.56.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The company had revenue of $24.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on TGT shares. Citigroup raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Target from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.68.

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.