Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 8,809 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 1.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 496,344 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,809 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Target were worth $44,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 63.4% during the second quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 263 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Target in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $108.04 on Friday. Target Corporation has a one year low of $83.44 and a one year high of $145.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $97.63 and a 200 day moving average of $96.33. The company has a market capitalization of $48.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.97.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down from $94.00) on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Target from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Target from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.03.

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.