Empowered Funds LLC Has $15.91 Million Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 196.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,261 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,955 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $15,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the second quarter worth $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 245.6% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Target by 134.9% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 296 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other 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 value of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Target from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Target from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.15.

Target Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of Target stock opened at $144.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $65.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $145.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $131.66 and its 200-day moving average is $122.48.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 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.