Great Lakes Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in Target Corporation by 91.4%, selling over 515,000 shares and retaining only 48,710 shares valued at approximately $5 million.
• Target's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 3.72% and revenue of $24.99 billion, beating analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.9%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.9%, with a payout ratio of 53.15%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 91.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,710 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 515,232 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Target were worth $5,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its position in Target by 951.4% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 389 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Target from $108.00 to $106.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Target from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Target from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Target from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $113.74.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $90.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $101.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.71. Target Corporation has a 52-week low of $87.35 and a 52-week high of $161.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.01. Target had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $24.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Target's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.15%.

Target Profile

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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