Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 2,264 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 314,564 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,264 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.07% of Target worth $46,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,945,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,401,142,000 after buying an additional 417,818 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Target by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,163,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,447,538,000 after purchasing an additional 868,274 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,531,846 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,357,525,000 after acquiring an additional 137,180 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth $759,810,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,153,875 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $558,898,000 after buying an additional 470,647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock traded up $18.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $161.35. 19,884,981 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,007,202. Target Co. has a 12-month low of $102.93 and a 12-month high of $181.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $74.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.40.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The retailer reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.39. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The company had revenue of $25.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Target Co. will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Target from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Target from $165.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup raised shares of Target from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $191.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.57.

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.