Target (NYSE:TGT) CAO Matthew Liegel Sells 2,053 Shares

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) CAO Matthew Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,038.17. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Target Price Performance

Target stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $114.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,544,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,427,559. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.12. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.44 and a fifty-two week high of $126.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $30.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,402,000. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Target by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,726 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 5,665 shares in the last quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth $4,290,000. PeakShares LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $134,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research raised Target from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Target from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Target in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.45.

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.