Cinctive Capital Management LP Purchases 81,217 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Cinctive Capital Management LP increased its Target stake by 324.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 81,217 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 106,217 shares valued at about $10.38 million.
• Institutional interest in Target remains strong, with several large investors adding positions; overall, institutional investors own 79.73% of the company.
• Target reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its dividend to $1.16 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $126.11.

Cinctive Capital Management LP grew its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 324.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,217 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 81,217 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP's holdings in Target were worth $10,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Target by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,925,898 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,195,953,000 after purchasing an additional 6,481,560 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $587,903,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $257,571,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Target by 243.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,870,210 shares of the retailer's stock worth $280,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Target by 6,639.1% in the 4th quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,912,963 shares of the retailer's stock worth $186,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $63.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $114.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $126.11.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $127.80 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $126.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.93. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $137.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.00.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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