Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 180,682 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 55.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 504,125 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 180,682 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $61,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 80.3% during the first quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 2,421 shares during the last quarter. Everest Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,004,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of Target by 29.0% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 21,444 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 4,826 shares during the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP grew its position in Target by 39.8% in the 1st quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 176,142 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,348,000 after purchasing an additional 50,142 shares during the period. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA boosted its stake in shares of Target by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 43,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,243,000 after buying an additional 9,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $140.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $63.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.98. Target Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.44 and a 52-week high of $144.40. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $131.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $25.44 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Target from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded Target from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $162.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $123.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore set a $130.00 price objective on Target in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.15.

Target Company 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.