Renaissance Technologies LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 78.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 410,500 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,514,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.09% of Target worth $49,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Target by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,212,397 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,690,262,000 after acquiring an additional 286,499 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Target by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,692,265,000 after acquiring an additional 124,468 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,065,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,668,194,000 after acquiring an additional 561,898 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 142,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $587,903,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. The trade was a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Price Performance

Target stock opened at $140.47 on Tuesday. Target Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.44 and a 52-week high of $144.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.19. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 60.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Target from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Target from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.15.

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.