Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 229,155 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in Target Corporation by 30.7% during the first quarter, now owning approximately $53.87 million in shares.
• Target's quarterly earnings surpassed estimates, reporting $2.05 EPS and revenue of $24.99 billion, despite a 0.9% year-over-year revenue decline.
• The retailer recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, yielding 4.8%, with a payout ratio of 53.15%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 30.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 516,214 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 229,155 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.11% of Target worth $53,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Target by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,621 shares of the retailer's stock worth $77,845,000 after purchasing an additional 47,831 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 60.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,698 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,039,000 after buying an additional 14,623 shares during the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 5.3% during the first quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 3,399 shares of the retailer's stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Target by 18.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,757,432 shares of the retailer's stock worth $287,766,000 after buying an additional 431,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Target by 42.9% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 391,279 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,834,000 after buying an additional 117,500 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Target Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Target stock traded down $1.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $90.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,405,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,134,480. The company has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $100.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.40. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $87.35 and a 52 week high of $161.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $24.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.84 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 3.72%.The business's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Target from $160.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Target from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Target from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $113.74.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, and infants and newborns, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes; and beauty and personal care, baby gear, cleaning, paper products, and pet supplies.