Virtue Capital Management LLC Purchases 9,800 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 187.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,033 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $2,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Target from $129.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Target from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Target from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” 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 report on Monday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.33.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $153.70 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $157.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.94. Target Corporation has a one year low of $83.44 and a one year high of $170.75.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The company 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 EPS. The firm’s 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Target’s payout ratio is 48.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,684,490.76. This represents a 21.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $151,410.26. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares in the company, 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.