Target Corporation $TGT Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 8.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,001,404 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 291,766 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Target were worth $392,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 101.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Target by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 38,712 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,040,000 after acquiring an additional 11,047 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,660 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,872,000 after acquiring an additional 12,948 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Target by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,860 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,832,000 after acquiring an additional 14,195 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Target by 11.0% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 272,787 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,910,000 after acquiring an additional 27,063 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,005,613.66. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 3.9%

TGT stock opened at $163.20 on Wednesday. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $74.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.90.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $1.76. The business had revenue of $26.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.13 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Target from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Evercore set a $170.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $169.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.52.

Target 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.