Target Corporation $TGT Stock Sold by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board reduced its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,902 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,511 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Target were worth $2,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,054,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter worth $831,466,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $320,006,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $224,238,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $150,784,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

TGT stock opened at $151.80 on Friday. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $170.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $157.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.57. The firm has a market cap of $68.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.98.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 48.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Target from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Target from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Target from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Target from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.33.

Insider Activity

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

About Target

Target Corporation is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer that operates stores and digital shopping platforms under the Target name. The company sells a broad assortment of products, including apparel and accessories, beauty and household essentials, electronics, toys, groceries, home furnishings, and seasonal merchandise.

Target also offers services designed to support omnichannel shopping, including order pickup, Drive Up, same-day delivery, and shipping through its digital channels.