Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Target Corporation $TGT

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,100 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Target by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 33,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 4,672 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Target by 0.5% during the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 128,830 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,709,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Target by 220.0% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 368 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at about $367,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Target by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 937,030 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $92,451,000 after acquiring an additional 210,060 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Target from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Target in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Target from $117.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Target from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.00.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $89.83 on Thursday. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.44 and a 1-year high of $145.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.70. The firm has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Target had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 3.72%.The company had revenue of $25.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. Target’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.34%.

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.