Columbia Asset Management Purchases 3,535 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Columbia Asset Management increased its stake in Target Corporation by 9.6%, purchasing an additional 3,535 shares, bringing its total holdings to 40,202 shares valued at approximately $3,966,000.
• Target's quarterly earnings beat expectations with an EPS of $2.05, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.04, although revenue declined by 0.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase from $1.12 to $1.14 per share, representing a 5.1% yield, with the next payment scheduled for December 1st.

Columbia Asset Management increased its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,202 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,535 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Target were worth $3,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of TGT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 407.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,666,672,000 after acquiring an additional 12,825,586 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Target during the 2nd quarter valued at $595,839,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 1,364.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,289,692 shares of the retailer's stock worth $343,312,000 after buying an additional 3,065,035 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the first quarter worth about $186,361,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 35.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer's stock worth $560,420,000 after buying an additional 1,406,653 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Target from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Target from $90.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.48.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $89.82 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.93 and a 200 day moving average of $97.80. The stock has a market cap of $40.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.16. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $86.30 and a 12 month 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.84 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 23.43%. Target's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.14 per share. This is an increase from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.15%.

About Target

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.

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