First Trust Advisors LP Buys 124,371 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its Target stake by 10.9% in Q3, buying 124,371 shares to hold 1,267,577 shares worth about $113.7 million (≈0.28% of the company).
• Target reported quarterly EPS of $2.44 (beat estimates by $0.28) with revenue of $30.45B slightly below expectations, set FY2026 guidance of $7.50–$8.50 EPS, and has seen multiple analyst upgrades while the consensus rating remains "Hold" with an average price target of $115.76.
• Target pays a quarterly dividend of $1.14 (annualized $4.56) for a yield of 3.8%, and trades at a PE of about 14.8 with a market cap near $54.6 billion and a 52‑week range of $83.44–$126.00.

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 10.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,267,577 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 124,371 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.28% of Target worth $113,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 41.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 38,819 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 11,378 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,236,000. QVR LLC bought a new stake in Target in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,014,000. LJI Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Target by 446.4% in the 3rd quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,836 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,138,000 after buying an additional 19,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY grew its holdings in Target by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 177,721 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $15,942,000 after buying an additional 19,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Target Stock Performance

NYSE:TGT opened at $120.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.94. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.44 and a fifty-two week high of $126.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.27.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $30.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The business's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $1.14 dividend. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. Target's payout ratio is 56.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TGT. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Target from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $145.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Target from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Target from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $115.76.

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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