Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Lowers Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV cut its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 22.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,449 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,806 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Target were worth $3,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Target in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in Target by 1,113.8% in the second quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 352 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Target by 220.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 368 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $115.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $101.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.64. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $135.00.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. Target had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 22.74%. The business had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on TGT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Target in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Argus reduced their price target on shares of Target from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.21.

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.