Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 5.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 155,566 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 9,117 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $18,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Target in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Target by 192.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Target from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.64.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $134.94 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.16. The stock has a market cap of $61.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $142.82.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. 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. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.