Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Decreases Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lowered its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 35.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,207 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14,396 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Target were worth $3,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 101.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 3,059 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 11,047 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Target by 22.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,660 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,872,000 after purchasing an additional 12,948 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Target by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,860 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,832,000 after buying an additional 14,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Target by 11.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 27,063 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $139.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.00. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $142.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.43.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued 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. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. The trade was 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 through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Argus set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Twelve research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

About Target

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.