Easterly Investment Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Easterly Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,014 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,170 shares during the period. Target comprises 1.0% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $15,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Target by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,267,577 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $113,702,000 after acquiring an additional 124,371 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 342,487 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,721,000 after acquiring an additional 45,803 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 155,222 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,173,000 after acquiring an additional 10,839 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 175,443 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,322,000 after acquiring an additional 30,363 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Target by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 243,603 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,414,000 after acquiring an additional 47,700 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $240,591.07. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $127.25 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $123.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.01. The stock has a market cap of $57.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.93. Target Corporation has a one year low of $83.44 and a one year high of $133.10.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.66 billion. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.Target’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Target from $112.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore set a $130.00 price target on Target in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.93.

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.