Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 8,763 Shares of Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,018 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,763 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $8,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Target by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Target by 8.6% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 119,458 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,619,000 after acquiring an additional 9,510 shares during the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Target by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 217,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,834,000 after acquiring an additional 69,885 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd raised its position in shares of Target by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 10,300 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leibman Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $2,272,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $140.28 on Thursday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The stock has a market cap of $64.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $133.80 and a 200-day moving average of $144.64. 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 (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.45). Target had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $25.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Co. will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 47.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Target from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on Target from $157.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Target from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.70.

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.