Nicholas Investment Partners LP Has $7.20 Million Stock Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Nicholas Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 204.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 55,154 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,030 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Target were worth $7,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Target during the second quarter worth $26,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 245.6% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Target from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Target from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Target from $161.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.52.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of Target stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,613.66. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $169.96 on Tuesday. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $170.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $77.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.96.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $1.76. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The company had revenue of $26.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.18%.

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.