Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 385,961 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 28.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 992,106 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 385,961 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.22% of Target worth $129,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,054,604,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,692,265,000 after purchasing an additional 124,468 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 3.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $831,466,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,507,000 after purchasing an additional 142,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Target from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Target from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,684,490.76. The trade was a 21.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $151,410.26. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,005,613.66. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 26,426 shares of company stock worth $4,044,690 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $163.85 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $170.75.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. The firm had revenue of $26.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.13 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 4.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.18%.

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.