Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Lowers Stock Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 40.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,459 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,162 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Target were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Target by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,267,577 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $113,702,000 after purchasing an additional 124,371 shares during the period. Winning Points Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth about $611,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,507,000 after buying an additional 142,937 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in Target by 15.4% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 342,487 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,721,000 after buying an additional 45,803 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Target by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 155,222 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,173,000 after buying an additional 10,839 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $123.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Target in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Target from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.00.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $134.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.74. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $83.44 and a twelve month high of $137.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $60.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.00.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. Target’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 45,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.