Target Corporation $TGT Position Lowered by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 79,111 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 52,150 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $10,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Target by 4.1% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 8,455 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Target by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,478 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Target from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Target from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Mizuho set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Target from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.52.

Target Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $163.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.21 and a 200-day moving average of $129.86. The firm has a market cap of $74.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.97. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $83.44 and a twelve month high of $170.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $1.76. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The business had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Target’s payout ratio is 48.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,613.66. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total value of $2,634,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 56,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,684,490.76. The trade was a 21.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Target Company Profile

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.