Bailard Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Bailard Inc. lessened its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,851 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 56,902 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Target by 48.1% during the 1st quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 84,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,786,000 after purchasing an additional 27,329 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 27.7% during the second quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,208 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 2,869 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at $4,623,000. Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 7.6% in the second quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 79,158 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,809,000 after acquiring an additional 5,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Target in the second quarter worth about $370,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:TGT opened at $91.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $85.36 and a 52 week high of $158.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.64 and a 200 day moving average of $96.29.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.01. Target had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 3.72%.The business had revenue of $24.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 53.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Target from $117.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.71.

About Target

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.