Trust Co. of Vermont Has $2.31 Million Stock Position in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT)

Trust Co. of Vermont reduced its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT) by 0.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,609 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Target were worth $2,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth approximately $605,000. Little House Capital LLC bought a new stake in Target in the first quarter worth approximately $1,041,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Target by 23.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 642,340 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $112,686,000 after purchasing an additional 122,706 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 11.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $13,958,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $133.81. 5,005,480 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,889,438. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $102.93 and a 52-week high of $181.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.47 and a 200-day moving average of $154.65.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The retailer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $24.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 31.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Target from $191.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Target from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Target from $209.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.54.

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.