Willis Investment Counsel Has $11.22 Million Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Willis Investment Counsel lowered its stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 114,800 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13,162 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Target were worth $11,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Target by 192.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Target in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Target by 77.4% in the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 346 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $240,591.07. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,038.17. This represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Price Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $122.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.44 and a 1-year high of $126.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $116.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.28.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.28. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The business had revenue of $30.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Target’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 56.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Target from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Target from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Target from $63.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.32.

About Target

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.