7,434 Shares in Target Corporation $TGT Purchased by Ascentis Independent Advisors

Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,434 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $901,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth $587,903,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $257,571,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Target by 243.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,870,210 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $280,563,000 after buying an additional 2,035,298 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Target by 6,639.1% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,912,963 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $186,992,000 after buying an additional 1,884,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Target by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 65,505 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,403,000 after buying an additional 1,448,146 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $127.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $128.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.40. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.44 and a fifty-two week high of $142.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $25.44 billion during 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%.Target’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Target from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Target from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $123.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Friday, May 15th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Twelve equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.64.

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.