Entropy Technologies LP Invests $2.78 Million in Target Corporation $TGT

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 22,918 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,778,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Target by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its position in Target by 3.4% during the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 3.1% in the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 2,951 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 20,163 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target 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 transaction, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Target from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $162.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.15.

Target Price Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $136.85 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.94. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $144.40. The firm has a market cap of $62.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.24%.

Target Company 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.