Target Corporation $TGT Shares Sold by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co cut its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,324 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 9,612 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Target were worth $2,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 14.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,444,338 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,074,984,000 after buying an additional 6,607,982 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth $578,009,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 4.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,736,101 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,624,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,026 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Target by 133.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,223,776 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $219,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,129 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Target by 96.1% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,165,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $213,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,885 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Target

Here are the key news stories impacting Target this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $130 and reiterated an “overweight” rating, signaling a sizable upside vs. current levels and offering a strong analyst vote of confidence for the stock. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Target announced it will sell only cereals made without certified synthetic colors by the end of May — a retailer-leading move that supports merchandising authority, ESG positioning, and could strengthen brand perception. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: Target and Roller Rabbit will launch an exclusive spring collection (250+ items) to drive traffic and seasonal sales — a merchandising collaboration that may support comp trends if it resonates with customers. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $115 but kept a “neutral” rating — a modest upward revision that offers some support but stops short of a bullish endorsement. Benzinga TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks commentary and multiple analyst pieces flag Target as a “trending” / value candidate ahead of results — useful for investors evaluating relative valuation and estimates but not an immediate catalyst. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with an “underperform” rating and $103 price target — a fresh analyst downside that adds selling pressure and gives investors a lower-conviction view. Finviz
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein cut its price target to $91 and kept an “underperform” stance, representing a material downside and reinforcing a segment of analyst skepticism about near-term performance. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports growing investor agitation and leadership scrutiny tied to merchandising and policy decisions over the past three years — governance concerns can pressure the stock if activists push for changes or if execution missteps persist. Reuters

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on TGT shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Target from $85.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Target from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Target from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.24.

Target Trading Down 1.0%

TGT opened at $113.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.77. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.44 and a fifty-two week high of $127.06. The company has a market cap of $51.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 55.34%.

Target Company 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.