Advisortrust Partners LLC Buys New Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Advisortrust Partners LLC initiated a new position in Target, buying 43,891 shares valued at about $4.29 million. The stake represents roughly 1.9% of its portfolio and is its 13th-largest holding.
• Target also saw insider selling, with Cara A. Sylvester selling 10,000 shares for about $1.26 million. After the sale, she still held 45,930 shares, a 17.88% reduction in her position.
• Analysts remain mixed on Target: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $126.11, while the company recently beat quarterly earnings and raised its dividend to $1.16 per share.

Advisortrust Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 43,891 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $4,290,000. Target accounts for about 1.9% of Advisortrust Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Target by 192.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on TGT. Evercore set a $130.00 price objective on Target in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Target from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Target from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $126.11.

Target Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $130.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $59.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $126.43 and its 200 day moving average is $115.00. 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 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $137.87.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.66 billion. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.Target's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target's payout ratio is presently 60.24%.

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.

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