Intech Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management cut its Target stake by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,871 shares and leaving it with 60,186 shares valued at about $5.88 million.
• Target recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.71 versus $1.47 expected and revenue of $25.44 billion, up 6.7% year over year.
• Wall Street remains mixed on the stock: analysts have an average Hold rating with a consensus price target of $125.93, while Target’s shares were trading at $127.25 and the company continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.14 per share.

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,186 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,871 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Target were worth $5,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Target by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,828 shares of the retailer's stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Constant Guidance Financial LLC bought a new stake in Target in the fourth quarter worth $303,000. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Target by 383.7% in the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 27,209 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 21,584 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Target by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 8,426 shares of the retailer's stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Target by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 1,882 shares of the retailer's stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on TGT. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Target from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Target presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.93.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $127.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $123.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.30 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Target's dividend payout ratio is 60.24%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,423,038.17. This represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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