California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 873,454 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,525 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Target were worth $105,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Target by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,212,397 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,690,262,000 after purchasing an additional 286,499 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,692,265,000 after purchasing an additional 124,468 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,065,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,668,194,000 after purchasing an additional 561,898 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $605,507,000 after buying an additional 142,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $587,903,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of TGT opened at $139.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.98. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $144.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted 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 net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Target’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.29%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TGT shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Target from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.96.

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.