Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 385,961 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 992,106 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 385,961 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Target were worth $129,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter worth about $5,054,604,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Target by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,692,265,000 after buying an additional 124,468 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,065,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,668,194,000 after acquiring an additional 561,898 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $831,466,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Target by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $605,507,000 after acquiring an additional 142,937 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Mizuho set a $150.00 target price on Target in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.52.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $163.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.27. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $170.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. Analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.88 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s payout ratio is currently 48.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total value of $2,634,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,684,490.76. The trade was a 21.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,613.66. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,426 shares of company stock worth $4,044,690. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.