California State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its Target stake by 2.5% in the first quarter, selling 17,252 shares and retaining 675,710 shares worth approximately $81.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.73% of Target.
• Target reported quarterly earnings of $1.71 per share, beating estimates of $1.47, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $25.44 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.16, equivalent to a 3.2% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $132.15; meanwhile, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares in May.

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 675,710 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 17,252 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of Target worth $81,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Winning Points Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $611,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer's stock worth $605,507,000 after purchasing an additional 142,937 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Target by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 111,001 shares of the retailer's stock worth $13,453,000 after purchasing an additional 32,746 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the first quarter worth $6,686,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth $1,149,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. The trade was a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on TGT. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Evercore set a $130.00 price target on Target in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.15.

Target Trading Up 1.3%

TGT stock opened at $146.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $66.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.76. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $147.77.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target's dividend 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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