Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 57.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,280 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 33,520 shares during the quarter. Target makes up 2.2% of Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $3,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Winning Points Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth $611,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Target by 2.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target by 41.8% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 111,001 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,453,000 after buying an additional 32,746 shares during the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the first quarter worth about $6,686,000. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $27,470,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE TGT opened at $164.15 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $147.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.02. The company has a market capitalization of $74.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.99. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.44 and a 1-year high of $170.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $1.76. The company had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.13 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 4.08%.Target’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Target news, CAO Matthew Liegel sold 926 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,005,613.66. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Melissa Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,981 shares in the company, valued at $9,684,490.76. This trade represents a 21.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Target from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Target from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Target from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Target from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.52.

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.