Advisors Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management increased its stake in Target by 14.0% in Q4 to 288,331 shares (about $28.18 million), and institutional investors now own roughly 79.73% of the company.
• Target beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.44 vs. $2.16) while revenue fell 1.5% year-over-year; it gave Q1 guidance of $1.30 and FY 2026 guidance of $7.50–$8.50 EPS and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.14 (3.5% yield).
• Several analysts raised price targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $145, UBS to $144), but the consensus rating remains 'Hold' with a consensus target price of $117.39.

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 288,331 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 35,462 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Target worth $28,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc grew 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Target from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Target from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Target from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.39.

Target Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $129.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.42. The company has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.28. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The firm had revenue of $30.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.09%.

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.

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