D.A. Davidson & CO. Boosts Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 126,544 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 14,323 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Target were worth $15,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 16.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 3.1% during the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 2,951 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Target by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 20,163 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC increased its position in Target by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC increased its position in Target by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $139.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $129.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.29. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $142.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s payout ratio is currently 60.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Argus set a $150.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Evercore set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.96.

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.