Heritage Investors Management Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Heritage Investors Management Corp cut its Target stake by 33.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,246 shares and ending with 26,671 shares valued at about $2.61 million.
• Target recently posted a strong first-quarter update, with EPS of $1.71 and revenue of $25.44 billion both beating expectations, while comparable sales and traffic improved and management raised its outlook.
• Analysts remain mixed overall, but several firms lifted price targets after earnings; still, some caution persists due to competition from Walmart and Costco and concerns about consumer spending, with the stock currently carrying a consensus Hold rating.

Heritage Investors Management Corp lessened its stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 33.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,671 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 13,246 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in Target were worth $2,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 12.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,925,898 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,195,953,000 after purchasing an additional 6,481,560 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Target by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,648,065 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,377,031,000 after purchasing an additional 911,964 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Target by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,913,883 shares of the retailer's stock worth $170,278,000 after acquiring an additional 533,416 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Target by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,162,050 shares of the retailer's stock worth $311,911,000 after acquiring an additional 461,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its holdings in Target by 1,593.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 439,839 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,454,000 after purchasing an additional 413,871 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Target

Here are the key news stories impacting Target this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Target’s first-quarter earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $1.71 versus $1.47 expected and revenue of $25.44 billion topping estimates. Management also said the results validate its refreshed strategy, citing 6.7% sales growth and 4.4% traffic growth, while raising its outlook. Article: TGT Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Early Strategy Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms raised their price targets after the earnings report, including DA Davidson to $155 from $140 with a buy rating, Telsey Advisory Group to $150 from $148 with an outperform rating, and Robert W. Baird to $135 from $125. These upgrades suggest analysts see more upside in Target’s recovery. Article: Analyst price target increases for Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional commentary highlighted Target’s long-term turnaround potential, with one analysis asking whether the stock could reach $175 by 2027, but the piece was largely speculative rather than based on a new fundamental catalyst. Article: Prediction: Can Target Stock Reach $175 by 2027?
• Negative Sentiment: Not all the news was upbeat: Freedom Capital downgraded Target to hold from strong-buy, and some recent articles warned that competition from Walmart and Costco, plus concerns about consumer sentiment, could pressure the turnaround if spending weakens. Article: Target downgrade and cautionary commentary

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Target from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore set a $130.00 price objective on Target in a report on Monday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Target from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.93.

Target Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Target stock opened at $125.62 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $122.49 and its 200-day moving average is $109.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $133.10.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Target's payout ratio is 56.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $240,591.07. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,423,038.17. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Target Company 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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