Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stock Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its Target position by 5% in the second quarter, selling 7,888 shares and retaining 149,802 shares valued at approximately $19.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.73% of Target.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $140, despite some recent upgrades. Target shares opened at $154, near their 52-week high of $154.89.
• Target beat quarterly expectations with earnings of $1.71 per share and revenue of $25.44 billion, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share, representing a 3.0% annualized yield.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,802 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,888 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Target were worth $19,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TGT. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in Target during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TGT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Target from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Target from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $123.00 target price on shares of Target in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Target from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.00.

Target Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of TGT stock opened at $154.00 on Thursday. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.44 and a 1-year high of $154.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $136.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.60. The firm has a market cap of $69.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.97.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.37 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.24%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of Target stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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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