Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,134,231 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 175,515 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Target were worth $306,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 192.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in Target by 77.4% in the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 346 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Target by 168.9% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 355 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $125.16 on Wednesday. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $122.85 and its 200 day moving average is $110.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.01.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Target’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 60.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Target from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Target from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Mizuho set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Target from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.93.

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.