Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Decreases Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp decreased its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,118 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 407.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,666,672,000 after buying an additional 12,825,586 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth $595,839,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 1,364.3% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,289,692 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $343,312,000 after buying an additional 3,065,035 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 1st quarter worth $186,361,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $560,420,000 after buying an additional 1,406,653 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $90.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.18. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $85.36 and a 1-year high of $158.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.36.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.01. Target had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $24.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TGT. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Target from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Target from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Target from $115.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

About Target

Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, and infants and newborns, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes; and beauty and personal care, baby gear, cleaning, paper products, and pet supplies.