Target Corporation $TGT Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 4.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 244,590 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,219 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Target were worth $31,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Target during the second quarter worth about $5,054,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $831,466,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $587,903,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at about $257,571,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 243.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,870,210 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $280,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035,298 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Target from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Target from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.52.

Target Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of TGT stock opened at $165.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.44 and a fifty-two week high of $170.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $143.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.63. The stock has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $26.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.84 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.18%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,684,490.76. The trade was a 21.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,613.66. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.