Target Corporation $TGT Shares Acquired by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,531 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,861 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $17,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Target by 101.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Target by 39.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 38,712 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,040,000 after buying an additional 11,047 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Target by 22.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,660 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,872,000 after buying an additional 12,948 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Target by 8.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,860 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,832,000 after buying an additional 14,195 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Target by 11.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 272,787 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,910,000 after buying an additional 27,063 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $127.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $57.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.87. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $133.10.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $123.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Target from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $240,591.07. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Target

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.