Cerity Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Target by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 300,587 shares worth about $29.4 million.
• Target reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.71 versus $1.47 expected and revenue of $25.44 billion versus $24.66 billion forecast. Revenue rose 6.7% year over year, and the company issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of $7.50 to $8.50.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.93. Recent moves include RBC raising its target to $153 and Goldman Sachs lifting its target to $127, while Bank of America kept an underperform view.

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,587 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 86,961 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Target worth $29,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 12.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,925,898 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,195,953,000 after acquiring an additional 6,481,560 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Target in the fourth quarter valued at about $587,903,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Target by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,648,065 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,377,031,000 after acquiring an additional 911,964 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Target by 38.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 1,913,883 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $170,278,000 after acquiring an additional 533,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 17.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,162,050 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $311,911,000 after acquiring an additional 461,495 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $127.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.00. 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's 50 day moving average is $124.89 and its 200 day moving average is $113.02. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $133.10.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. Target's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on TGT. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho set a $120.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Target from $112.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $125.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 owned 45,930 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $240,591.07. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,143 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate 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.

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