HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC cut its Target stake by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, selling nearly 300,000 shares and leaving it with about 240,448 shares valued at roughly $23.5 million.
• Target’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $1.71 versus $1.47 expected and revenue of $25.44 billion topping estimates. Management also pointed to 6.7% sales growth and raised its outlook.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally cautious: several firms lifted price targets after earnings, yet the consensus rating is still “Hold,” and some recent commentary warned that competition and consumer softness could pressure the turnaround.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 55.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 240,448 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 299,598 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Target worth $23,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TGT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 101.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Target by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 38,712 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,040,000 after buying an additional 11,047 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Target by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,660 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,872,000 after buying an additional 12,948 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Target by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,860 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,832,000 after buying an additional 14,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Target by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 272,787 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,910,000 after buying an additional 27,063 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $125.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $122.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.61. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The stock has a market cap of $57.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Target Announces Dividend

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

Target News Summary

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,143 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,038.17. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on TGT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Target from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Target from $112.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.93.

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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