Alps Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 258,328 Target Corporation $TGT

Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 258,328 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $25,252,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 101.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Target by 39.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 38,712 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,040,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 22.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,660 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,872,000 after purchasing an additional 12,948 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 8.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,860 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,832,000 after purchasing an additional 14,195 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Target by 11.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 27,063 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $132.59 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $125.12 and a 200 day moving average of $113.34. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The company had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Target’s payout ratio is 60.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital lowered Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Target from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Target from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.