Brandes Investment Partners LP Grows Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 547,294 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,522 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Target were worth $53,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Target by 192.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 168.9% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 355 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $126.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.71. The stock has a market cap of $57.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.00. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $133.10.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TGT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Target from $112.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $123.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Target from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.93.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,038.17. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.