Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,413,840 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 411,608 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Target were worth $656,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Winning Points Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth $611,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Target by 2.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Target by 41.8% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 111,001 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,453,000 after buying an additional 32,746 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 1st quarter valued at $6,686,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 155,222 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,173,000 after buying an additional 10,839 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TGT. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Target from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Target from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.96.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $139.93 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $63.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G 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.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. Target’s payout ratio is currently 60.24%.

Target Company 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.