Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 49,956 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors cut its Target stake by 76.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 49,956 shares and leaving it with 15,044 shares worth about $1.47 million.
• Several analysts remain positive on Target, with recent price-target increases from firms like Wells Fargo, Guggenheim, and Oppenheimer; however, the overall consensus rating is still Hold with a target price of $118.04.
• Target reported Q4 EPS of $2.44, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.14 per share payable June 1, implying a 3.6% annualized yield.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 76.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,044 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 49,956 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Target were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,212,397 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,690,262,000 after purchasing an additional 286,499 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Target by 2.5% in the third 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Target by 2.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,051,151 shares of the retailer's stock worth $453,050,000 after buying an additional 122,300 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Target by 10.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,910,163 shares of the retailer's stock worth $350,742,000 after buying an additional 360,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Target by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,309,746 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $296,884,000 after buying an additional 25,989 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Target from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group raised Target from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Target from $102.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,143 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Target Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE TGT opened at $125.18 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Target Corporation has a one year low of $83.44 and a one year high of $133.10.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.28. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The company had revenue of $30.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.52 billion. Target's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.41 EPS. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.02 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Target's payout ratio is currently 56.09%.

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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