Bank of America Corp DE Decreases Stock Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Target stake by 8.0% in the first quarter, selling 389,632 shares and retaining 4.49 million shares valued at approximately $544.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.73% of Target.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $133.48, despite recent target-price increases from several firms. Target shares opened at $144.55, near their 12-month high.
• Target exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.71 in EPS and $25.44 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.16, equivalent to a 3.2% annual yield.

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,493,612 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 389,632 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.99% of Target worth $544,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Target by 101.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Target by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 38,712 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,040,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,660 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,872,000 after buying an additional 12,948 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,860 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,832,000 after buying an additional 14,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Target by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 272,787 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,910,000 after buying an additional 27,063 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TGT. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Target from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Target from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Target from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.48.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $144.55 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $132.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.18. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $147.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $65.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.98.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $25.44 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.