Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Stock Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 784.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 259,285 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 229,966 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Target were worth $31,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 192.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE TGT opened at $134.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $61.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.98. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.44 and a fifty-two week high of $142.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The company had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on TGT. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Target from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $162.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Target from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore set a $130.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.64.

Target 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.