Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 6,014,348 Target Corporation $TGT

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 6,014,348 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $587,903,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position 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 buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Target by 77.4% during the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 346 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Target by 168.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 355 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TGT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Target from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Target from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.93.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 12,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,038.17. This represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $127.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.00. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $133.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.01. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. Target’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 3.6%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.24%.

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.