Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 14.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,444,338 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,607,982 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.32% of Target worth $5,074,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Target by 63.4% in the second quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 2,530.0% in the second quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Target during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $85.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $85.30 and a 12-month high of $145.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.02. The company has a market cap of $39.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $25.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.44 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a $1.14 dividend. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 53.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Target from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Target from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.45.

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.